Sent to Feiqing
- Poetry of Yu Xuanji

《寄飞卿》

English Rendering

Crickets chirp on the stair-steps

they sound confused to me

in the misty courtyard, along the branches,

clear dewdrops hang

a moonlit night—I hear faint music

coming from my neighbor's

if I went upstairs I could see the mountains

distinct even in the distance

a cool breeze comes to stroke me

as I sit on my bamboo mat

and I wish I had a magic lute

to help me get through this life

I feel like that philosopher

who wrote such lazy letters

wanting some way to express

the moods and thoughts of autumn.

Sent to Feiqing by Yu Xuanji
Sent to Feiqing by Yu Xuanji

Original Text (中文原文)

阶砌乱蛩鸣,庭柯烟露清。

月中邻乐响,楼上远山明。

珍簟凉风著,瑶琴寄恨生。

嵇君懒书札,底物慰秋情。

Analysis & Context

Five-character poem

Yu Xuanji has come to know Wen Tingyun, the popular poet of her time, better over time, as she uses only his courtesy name to address him without the prefix of his family name. This need mean no more than that the two have often exchanged challenge poems as friends. But I would think that the two have met, at least with his visiting the monastery where she lives.

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.

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