English Rendering
Honoured with the gold bracelet, almost an Empress,
you have no need to envy Han’s Shaoyang Palace.
May you be dearly loved and blessed with more sons,
embracing a new year full of cheers and happiness.
A Quatrain for the Noble Consort’s Chamber
- Poetry of Li Qingzhao
《贵妃阁春帖子》Original Text (中文原文)
金环半后礼，钩弋比昭阳。
春生百子帐，喜入万年觞
Analysis & Context
This is a seasonal greeting poem written on a red scroll for the Noble Consort Wu who became the Empress a few months later. Again the theme focuses on happiness and on having more children. Shaoyang Palace in the Han dynasty is said to be a very luxurious living place for Noble Consort Zhao of Emperor Chen. Yi’an made the comparison to emphasize how much Wu was favoured by the Emperor.
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.
- From the balcony to the bare distance
- Extempore verse
- Writing to my Friends from my Hotel at Chang-le
- The River Traffic by Yan’s Fishing Pavilion
- No sooner the jade buds are turned to rosy lips
- In the snowy yard the Spring messenger arrived
- The Summit Temple
- <Prelude to Water Melody> Sent to Ziyou on Mid-autumn Festival
- Invitation to Wine
- Question and Answer in the Mountains
- Cold sheet
- Coming Home ( Returning Home )
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