Washing Yarn Temple
- Poetry of Yu Xuanji

《浣纱庙》

English Rendering

State plots against state

intrigues come thick and fast

but here at Washing Yarn Temple

Xi Shi offers us harmony

a pair of faces can beam

just from turning to glimpse her

while thousands of seasoned troops

ground their weapons and surrender

Fan Li achieved his greatness

by turning away from the world

while Wu Xu had to die

in order to wear down the government

the great river confers a name

upon a place like Zhuji

but this blue mountain has long been known

as a beautiful woman's birthplace.

Washing Yarn Temple by Yu Xuanji
Washing Yarn Temple by Yu Xuanji

Original Text (中文原文)

吴越相谋计策多,浣纱神女已相和。

一双笑靥才回面,十万精兵尽倒戈。

范蠡功成身隐遁,伍胥谏死国消磨。

只今诸暨长江畔,空有青山号苎萝。

Analysis & Context

Seven-character poem

This poem was written in 865 during the Xichuan Mutiny when imperial troops went over to fight for Dali. Yu Xuanji would have been twenty-one. Or it could be the Dali invasion of 869 when she was twenty-five. Wu and Yue are proverbial opposing kingdoms. Fan Li and Wu Xu are famous characters of Yue and Wu. Washing Silk Temple, I believe, sits on Goddess Mountain overlooking the Changjiang (Yangzi, Long River) above the Three Gorges. Perhaps the temple was threatened by the approach of the mutinied troops.

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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