Living in a simple cottage, never wearing silk,
Longs to be married, but how does she dare?
… He has never seen her simple face, the loveliest of them all,
For men choose for worldliness, and not for worth?
It is said, her slender fingers sew beyond compare,
But she cannot compete with women who have painted brows.
Year after year she sews with golden thread,
Bridal robes for other girls.
Poem translator: Kiang Kanghu
蓬门未识绮罗香，拟托良媒益自伤。
谁爱风流高格调，共怜时世俭梳妆。
敢将十指夸针巧，不把双眉斗画长。
苦恨年年压金线，为他人作嫁衣裳。
The time is the late Tang Dynasty, when wars were constant and disasters common, when emperors came and went like flowers do, and a poet’s life meant little. The life of the common people was difficult at best. A poor girl dreams of her own marriage while sewing bridal gown for others.
Composed during an era of growing materialism and social stratification, this poem adopts the voice of an impoverished but virtuous maiden to critique superficial values that prized wealth over talent. Through this persona, the poet Qin Taoyu—himself an unrecognized scholar—expresses profound empathy for society's marginalized while voicing his own frustrations about merit going unrewarded.
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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