In the snowy yard the Spring messenger arrived:
There, fresh from bath, mirrors a jade fairy being.
Her sleeky plum boughs are sprouting, blossoming,-
so delicate, lips opening, a sweetness personified.
Her, the Creation must favour above all her like,
so let the vivid moon shine the brightest tonight.
Let’s fill our golden cups, all with the new wine.
A toast to this unusual beauty, till morning light.
雪里已知春信至，寒梅点缀琼枝腻。
香脸半开娇旖旎，当庭际，玉人浴出新妆洗。
造化可能偏有意，故教明月玲珑地。
共赏金尊沈绿蚁，莫辞醉，此花不与群花比。
- to the tune of Yujia’ao
Scholars associate the exuberance of this ci with the earlier phase of Li Qingzhao's life, before she and her kind began fleeing to the south from the sudden foreign encroachments. Western readers would do well to imagine the absolute unity she pictured, between the plum blossoms in the snowy yard, the moon and herself, and her beautiful eloquence on the plum blossoms. The flower has been a symbol of the desired qualities valued in the Chinese culture -- brave, proud and enduring spirit.
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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