Tuesday, August 31, 2021

Sins Of Past Life


It was in one of those dream states while doodling nonchalantly on improving one’s handwriting that the mind drifted off to some place far away. This time, the line revealed to me as 又見沙雁東南飛.

1 重見飛雁東南去
Once more flying ansers seen leaving for the south-east,
2 沙漠夕陽幾滴淚 A few teardrops felt as the desert sun sets.
3 後庭孤月西北風 And in the backyard, a lonely moon shines upon the north-west wind,
4 引送妾夢與君醉 Sending this wife’s dream of their once drinking merriments to her Lord.

5 戰塲胡馬日侵亂 By day incursions of barbarian horses create chaos on battlefields,
6 瑤池青鳥夜倦累 And when nights do come, fatigued are the Jasper Pool blue birds.
7 春宵盡散鴛鴦枕 Spring nights had evaporated over the mandarin duck pillows,
8 有緣無份前生罪 Fated to be husband and wife but not in togetherness – Alas, sins of my previous life.

1 Implying that the current location is somewhere in the north-western boundaries of China.

4 引送 – to show, lead the way, to pave the road etc.

6 Blue birds are messengers of the Queen Mother of the West. This line infers that the husband is too tired even to dream after a day’s of battling.

7 Pillows or blankets with depiction of a pair of mandarin ducks symbolizes conjugal bliss as these birds are known to mate for life. This line infers that the bed had not been shared for many years.

8 緣 and 份 both mean destiny but with slight nuances. The former means destined meeting while the later, destined to be part of. Thus, 有緣無份 means the destiny to meet but not in togetherness.

Saturday, August 28, 2021



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