Telling Innermost Feeling: East Wind and Willows Turning Green
- Poetry of Yan Shu
The east wind blows willow trees green;
Light mist parts after rain, the sky’s serene.
Annoyed by her sweet sleep in fragrant bower,
The orioles warble at the morning hour.
Her eyebrows fine,
Her waist like a vine,
She wears last night’s attire.
Spring’s sweet desire,
The breeze of March so warm,
All waken love’s alarm.
This lyric was composed during the early Northern Song Dynasty when Yan Shu, already a prominent statesman, stood at the pinnacle of both literary and political circles. As a leading figure of the "Northern Song ci poetry school," he excelled in depicting delicate emotions, particularly spring scenes, boudoir yearnings, and the transience of youth. Emerging from this cultural milieu, the poem—though lacking specific temporal markers—uses imagery like east winds, willow catkins, orioles' songs, and last night's makeup to evoke late spring, portraying a woman's melancholic languor on a spring morning. Through her dream interruptions and drowsy toilette, the poet expresses both spring-induced sentiments and lingering inner thoughts, reflecting both lament for fading beauty and the Song dynasty's refined aesthetic of subtle profundity.
东风杨柳欲青青。烟淡雨初晴。
恼他香阁浓睡，撩乱有啼莺。
眉叶细，舞腰轻。宿妆成。
一春芳意，三月和风，牵系人情。
- Why Chinese poems is so special?
- The most distinctive features of Chinese poetry are: concision- many poems are only four lines, and few are much longer than eight; ambiguity- number, tense and parts of speech are often undetermined, creating particularly rich interpretative possibilities; and structure- most poems follow quite strict formal patterns which have beauty in themselves as well as highlighting meaningful contrasts.
- How to read a Chinese poem?
- Like an English poem, but more so. Everything is there for a reason, so try to find that reason. Think about all the possible connotations, and be aware of the different possibilities of number and tense. Look for contrasts: within lines, between the lines of each couplet and between successive couplets. Above all, don't worry about what the poet meant- find your meaning.
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