Anxiety Of A Beauty
- Poetry of Qin Guan

《虞美人·碧桃天上栽和露》

English Rendering

Peach blossom planted and exposed in heaven,

Is not [like] the typical flowers found on earth.

In the depths of the chaotic mountains, [a stream of] water lingers,

Unfortunately, such picturesque view, for whom has it blossomed for?

What limits the affection of slightly cold weather and drizzling rain holds!

Unable to prevent the passing of spring.

What harm is there in getting drunk for one’s lord,

Only afraid when sobered up, the heartbreak that follows.

Anxiety Of A Beauty by Qin Guan
Anxiety Of A Beauty by Qin Guan

Original Text (中文原文)

碧桃天上栽和露,不是凡花数。

乱山深处水萦回,可惜一枝如画为谁开?

轻寒细雨情何限!不道春难管。

为君沉醉又何妨,只怕酒醒时候断人肠。

Analysis & Context

The specific peach blossom mentioned in the original poem is bì táo / 碧桃, it is also the name of a song hostess that the poet has written the poem for as he empathises with the hostess who cannot be truly cherished, her passing of beauty and also her loneliness once the guests leaves.

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.

The Masters' Directory

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 Chinese Poems in English  Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

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.