To One Unnamed IV

Poetry of Li Shangyin 《无题·凤尾香罗薄几重》

English Rendering

A faint phoenix-tail gauze, fragrant and doubled,

Lines your green canopy, closed for the night....

Will your shy face peer round a moon-shaped fan,

And your voice be heard hushing the rattle of my carriage?

It is quiet and quiet where your gold lamp dies,

How far can a pomegranate-blossom whisper?

...I will tether my horse to a river willow

And wait for the will of the southwest wind.

To One Unnamed IV by Li Shangyin -
"To One Unnamed IV" by Li Shangyin

Original Text (中文原文)

凤尾香罗薄几重,碧文圆顶夜深缝。

扇裁月魄羞难掩,车走雷声语未通。

曾是寂寥金烬暗,断无消息石榴红。

斑骓只系垂杨岸,何处西南任好风?

Meaning & Analysis

Seven-character-regular-verse

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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