The Beautiful Lady Yu

Poetry of Huang Tingjian 《虞美人·宜州见梅作》

English Rendering

Message comes from the south to the end of the sky,

When mumes burst open, spring is nigh.

At dead of night the wind is slight, your fragrance late.

Who knows at dawn your branches bloom at southern gate?


You're envied by powder of the Terrace of Jade;

You waft amid the brows and will not fade.

All my life long I love you with wine cup in hand;

My young heart oldens ten years away from homeland.

The Beautiful Lady Yu by Huang Tingjian -
"The Beautiful Lady Yu" by Huang Tingjian

Original Text (中文原文)

天涯也有江南信,梅破知春近。

夜阑风细得香迟,不道晓来开遍向南枝。

玉台弄粉花应妒,飘到眉心住。

平生个里愿杯深,去国十年老尽少年心。

Meaning & Analysis

By Huang Tingjian

Related Themes

Reader's Companion

The Essence of the Verse

Classical Chinese poetry thrives on Concision and Ambiguity. Without tense or number, the words create a timeless space where the reader becomes the co-creator of the poem's meaning.

Reading Between the Lines

Look for Contrasts: light and shadow, movement and stillness. Don't just translate the words; feel the Yijing (artistic conception) that lingers long after the last character.

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