English Rendering
Deserted garden,crumbling terrace,willows green,
Sweet notes of Lotus Song cannot revive old spring.
All are gone but the moon o'er West River that's seen
The ladies fair who won the favor of the king.
The Ruin of the Gusu Palace
- Poetry of Li Bai (Li Po)
《苏台览古》
Original Text (中文原文)
旧苑荒台杨柳新，菱歌清唱不胜春。
只今惟有西江月，曾照吴王宫里人。
Analysis & Context
The Gusu Palace in present-day Suzhou is where the King of Wu with his beautiful Xi Shi held perpetual revelries till the king of Yue annihilated him in the fifth century B.C.
This enduring nostalgic poem captures Li Bai's visit to the Gusu Terrace, where he reflects upon the past splendor of King Fuchai of Wu and the legendary beauty Xi Shi, now replaced by desolation. The poet seamlessly blends profound reflections on historical rise and fall into a vibrant spring landscape, creating powerful emotional tension and expressing a deep understanding of prosperity's inevitable decline and life's impermanence.
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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