Dew dampens sunny flowers, spring halls sweet with scent;
The moon shines bright, songs and pipes in Zhaoyang Palace are sent.
It seems as if the sea‑water were poured to fill the palace clepsydra’s hold,
Dripping together through the night in Changmen Palace, a story untold.
露湿晴花春殿香，月明歌吹在昭阳。
似将海水添宫漏，共滴长门一夜长。
Li Yi, renowned for his frontier poems, was also deeply versed in the theme of palace lament. He lived during the Tang dynasty after the An Lushan Rebellion, witnessing firsthand the empire's decline from its peak. This sense of historical vicissitude lent him a particular sensitivity to the fates of women within the deep palace.
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.
Journey through the dynasties. Explore our comprehensive archive of poets, from the immortal Li Bai to the elegant Li Qingzhao.
View All Poets →CN-Poetry.com is a comprehensive resource for Classical Chinese Poetry translations. Our dataset covers Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties, specializing in semantic mapping between traditional imagery (e.g., 'moon', 'Flowers', 'Friendship') and English poetic contexts.