Pandemic Blues

I hope that during this pandemic that we may learn how precious things are when we take them for granted.  In times of lock down, social distancing and staying home all the time...  The freedom of movement, to freedom to think, to  pursue -- not just for men but for women and all living creatures.

This poem is about ancient Chinese women of the gentry had to bear...  It was started from reading one of 李後主's poem, 鶯狂應有恨, 蝶舞已無多.

1 春去蝶舞已無多 Spring is going and the dancing butterflies are fewer now,
2 來秋葉落花難過 'tis difficult for flowers to pass with the approaching autumn and falling leaves,
3 紈扇兼收石榴裙 Both the silk fan and the pomegranate-colored skirts are being put away,
4 何聊閑度寂寞坐 Of what interest but to fritter time in boredom, sitting in loneliness.

 2 難過 literally means "having difficulty (time or otherwise) to pass [through]" and has the extended meaning of "sadness".  This line therefore can also be translated as "With the approaching autumn with leaves falling, the flowers are in sadness".

3 紈扇 are delicate round silk fans used by women to keep cool during summer.  A favorite pastime is to "catch" butterflies (撲蝶) with them.  Actually, the object of the game is to see how many butterflies can be touched by the silk of the fan. It is not easy owing to the breeze caused by the fan to blow away the butterfly.  Once touched, they are let go and the game continues.  The winner is the one who caught the most.  It is a sort of exercise and distraction in an otherwise dull environment in which the girls of the gentry live.  

石榴裙 refers to the purplish crimson color of the skirt.  It was very popular during the Tang Dynasty as it does not bleed into other colors during the dying process and so it is used delicate and gauzy types of silk.  As the cold season approaches, they are put away as their function is no longer applicable.

Thursday, March 4, 2021