O'er Royal Terrace when crows flew back to their nest,
The king in Royal Palace feast'd his mistress drunk.
The Southern maidens sang and danced without rest
Till beak-like mountain-peaks would peck the sun half-sunk.
The golden clepsydra could not stop water's flow,
O'er river waves the autumn moon was hanging low.
But wouldn't the king enjoy his fill in Eastern glow?
姑苏台上乌栖时，吴王宫里醉西施。
吴歌楚舞欢未毕，青山欲衔半边日。
银箭金壶漏水多，起看秋月坠江波。
东方渐高奈乐何！
The King of Wu held perpetual revelries with his favorite mistress Xi Shi in his Royal Palace in the 5th century B.C.
This poem was written by Li Bai during his travels to the Wu and Yue regions in the 19th year of the Kaiyuan era (731). On the surface, the poem describes the luxurious lifestyle of King Fu Chai of Wu and his concubine Xishi, but in reality, it serves as a satire of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, who was indulging in pleasures later in his reign. King Fu Chai had once built a palace for Xishi on the Su Tai, indulging in pleasure, and Li Bai uses the depiction of the debauchery in the Wu palace as an allegory for the political corruption in the Tang court. This poem not only reflects the degradation of society but also showcases Li Bai's deep reflection on the political and personal disappointments of the time.
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.
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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