Tender Blossom Song
- Poetry of Bao Junhui

《惜花吟》

English Rendering

Blossoms on the branches.

Blossoms fall on men.

A pity, their faces are full of their youth.

Yesterday, I saw every blossom blooming.

Now, I see each blossom wants to fall.

This joy of falling is not as good as leaving here.

Don't linger just for the sex; it ruins all.

Orioles sing, butterflies dance, glory of youth grows old.

As our hot stove boils tea, the fragrance of old eggs.

Make-up on, singing done, we can do as we please no more.

Alone, one fragrant blossom, returns to her chamber once more.

Tender Blossom Song by Bao Junhui
Tender Blossom Song by Bao Junhui

Original Text (中文原文)

枝上花,花下人,可怜颜色俱青春。

昨日看花花灼灼, 今朝看花花欲落。

不如尽此花下欢,莫待春风总吹却。

莺歌蝶舞韶光长,红炉煮茗松花香。

妆成罢吟恣游后,独把芳枝归洞房。

Analysis & Context

This peom is probably a lyric, which is a Chinese poet's words set to a tune known to his listeners. Or hers, as the case may be. As Bao Junhui is living, or trapped, in the Six Palaces of the consorts, it would be a song the other women knew, probably, and not for someone like 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.

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