He played the sad lyre,
moonshine washed the spire.
girl woke up to see the willow leaves,
only the spring wind breezes.
Thought back that autumn on Happy Valley,
he read the love poems for her in alley.
Now west wind came here with the heartbroken air.
In front of his tomb,girl silently played the sweet lyre.
箫声咽，秦娥梦断秦楼月。
秦楼月，年年柳色，灞陵伤别。
乐游原上清秋节，咸阳古道音尘绝。
音尘绝，西风残照，汉家陵阙。
This lyric depicts the solitude of a young woman who wakes from a dream of her husband on the eve of Clear Autumn Day or Mountain-climbing Day,that is,the 9th day of the 9th lunar month. It recalls his parting with her at the Bridge east of the capital.She then goes to the Merry-making Plain where she waits until sunset without seeing a messenger coming from her husband.Another commentator says that the people taking leave were those who were going to the war against the rebels in 755,so this lyric predicted the decline and fall of the Tang Empire.
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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