Walking in Wilson Park and trying to exercise my mind as well. In the end, it was certain words and help from the masters that cinch the final creation.
1 金屋寂寞無人見 No one sees loneliness is the Golden House,
2 爐香烟盡難入眠 ‘tis difficult to sleep when the scent of the incense burner is gone.
3 曾經瑤池花芙蓉 Once a lotus blossom in the Jasper Pool,
4 今時斷根草野賤 But now some despicable wild grasses with broken roots.
1 The first four characters came from Li Shang Yin’s 金屋無人見淚痕. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chen_Jiao for the “golden house” reference. It also means a place of great luxury. Usually, Chinese word order in poetry does not change the meaning significantly. However, this is such an example. If it is written as 金屋寂寞見無人, then it becomes “Loneliness of the Golden House sees no one”!
2 This line came from Li Po’s imagery, “日照香爐生紫烟” and the second half from Po Chu-i’s “斜倚薰籠坐到明”
3 “Jasper Pool”, a magical pond in the garden of the Queen Mother (西王母)of the West. Thus something of great quality. The modern meaning of 芙蓉 is hibiscus but in the old days, it is the lotus as in 水出芙蓉, “the lotus blooming out of the water”
4 The last two lines were inspired by Li Po’s “昔日芙蓉花, 今成斷根草. 以色事她人, 能得幾時好”. Wild grasses grow rampantly without constraint but since their roots are broken, they cannot grow with abandonment. The former Empress is all in name a prisoner in the house of gold.
Thursday, April 7, 2022
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