When Things Are No Longer Of Use

Again, another jogging inspiration… The initial line has now become the last line.

1 楓葉初紅漸心傷 Breaks my heart to see the first signs of maple leaves turning red,
2 十月紈扇金鏤長 And in October, silk fans are kept in golden gilded boxes.
3 巢歸鳥語時今靜 Chattering of returning roosting birds are now of no more,
4 無情風冷掃夕陽 And heartless cold winds sweeping away at the setting sun.

1 When maple leaves turn red, the beauty of the place won’t last for long as winter comes soon 金 afterwards, and everything turns bare.

2 Continuing the theme of the previous line. In the old days, these round silk fans were used by ladies and young girls of high positions for summer use to ward off the heat and as a pastime to catch butterflies (撲蝶) in the garden. When summer is over, they are no longer used and kept in boxes. This infers that things are discarded or put away once their usefulness is gone.

3 For those living in the city, one cannot imagine how noisy roosting birds can be. An apt metaphor of a social gathering after a hard day’s work by the well in a rural village. However, this does not last long as twilight is short-lived.

4 The sunset is gone and the chattering stops, as if swept being away by the night wind. On a deeper level, whatever remaining beauty is also gone and thus their usefulness. Ancient Chinese women view themselves as playthings of men unless their positions are elevated by becoming mothers, especially when there are sons to carry on the family name.

Friday, 06 October 2023