Bygone Dreams

 

This poem came about when I answered this Quora question about can a foreigner with knowledgeable modern mandarin can understand literary Chinese. The last line of the poem came into my mind. The poem was completed while I was jogging in the day.

1 後庭月明夜寒風 The night wind is cold as moon bright hangs over the inner courtyard,
2 前殿臘燈十里紅 But candlelight from the front outer palace is bright for ten miles.
3 一滴珠淚池影醉 One teardrop of a drunken face reflected in the pond,
4 長門曾經金屋夢 When once upon a dream, the Gate of Eternity was a house of gold.

1 Implies loneliness, sadness and hope by the imagery of the singular moon that is bright and yet the winds are cold.

2 There can be two interpretations for this line, the new favorite was being lavishly entertained in the front palace where important occasions or ceremonies were held. So many red candles were used that the place could be seen for ten miles. Red candles are used because the color is considered auspicious. White candles are only used for funerals. The second interpretation is that the protagonist was thinking of her old wedding ceremony and that red silk was used for ten miles, an exaggeration, of the procession route to welcome her to the palace. The only person we know of having this luxury for her marriage was the first empress of Han Wu Ti.

4 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chen_Jiao

Friday, September 15, 2023