Cold incense burner
- Poetry of Li Qingzhao

《凤凰台上忆吹箫·香冷金猊》

English Rendering

Cold incense burner,messy sheet,

i have no mood to dress up after you left.

Let ashes sleep on the cosmetics case,

sun rise above the beady curtains.

Fear that i'll think of you,

don't know how to say the sorrow.

These days,i become languish,not because of hangover or autumn


Let it go,let it go,

nothing will change no matter how many times

i break my heart.

In this lonely boudoir,only rain will hear my whispers.

Without the sunset,

just shoot my sight into the river we played,

reeds still grow,gulls still sing,where are you?my husband.

Cold incense burner by Li Qingzhao
Cold incense burner by Li Qingzhao

Original Text (中文原文)

香冷金猊,被翻红浪,起来慵自梳头。

任宝奁尘满,日上帘钩。

生怕离怀别苦,多少事、欲说还休。

新来瘦,非干病酒,不是悲秋。

休休,这回去也,千万遍《阳关》,也则难留。

念武陵人远,烟锁秦楼。

惟有楼前流水,应念我、终日凝眸。

凝眸处,从今又添,一段新愁。

Analysis & Context

Li Qingzhao:李清照(AD1084-1155),she's the greatest female lyricist and poet in Ancient China.Her poems are very touching and dreamy,she is the Chinese Sappho. This is a lyric depicting the poetess longing for her husband who was far away from home.

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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