How much sorrow can you have? Just like a river of spring water flowing eastward. -? Poppy · When is the Spring Flowers and Autumn Moon - Li Yu
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Poppy · When is the Spring Flowers and Autumn Moon
Author: Li Yu
When are the spring flowers and autumn moon? How much do you know about the past? There was an east wind in the small building last night, and the motherland could not bear to look back at the bright moon.
The carved railings and jade inlays should still be there, but the beauty has been changed. How much sorrow can you have? Just like a river of spring water flowing eastward. (Dialan Pass: Lan)
Translation and annotations?
Translation
When will this year end? How many past events do we know! Last night, the spring breeze blew again from the small building. How could I bear the pain of recalling my homeland on this bright moonlit night?
The finely carved railings and jade steps should still be there, but the person I miss is already aging. Ask me how much sadness is in my heart, just like the endless spring water flowing eastward.
Notes
This tune was originally a Tang Jiaofang song. It was first sung about Xiang Yu's beloved concubine Poppy, who was named after a flower that bloomed underground after her death. It is also known as "Spring Water of a River", "Jade Pot Water", "Twelve Peaks of Wushan", etc. Double tone, fifty-six characters, four sentences each in the upper and lower parts, all with two oblique rhymes converted into two flat rhymes.
Ended: finished.
Building: steps. Carved railings and jade inlays: refers to the Forbidden City of the Southern Tang Dynasty in Jinling.
Ying You: One work is "Yiran".
Zhu Yangai: refers to the person one misses has aged.
Jun: The author calls himself. Neng: It can also be used as "du", "that", "huan", "but".
"Poppy Beauty" is Li Yu's masterpiece and also the final words of Empress Li. It is said that on the night of his birthday (July 7th) ("Qixi Festival"), he ordered singers to make music in his residence and sing the lyrics of his new work "Poppy Beauty", which was well-known outside. Song Taizong was furious when he heard this and ordered people to give him medicinal wine to poison him to death. This poem expresses the endless sorrow of a subjugated king through the contrast between the past and the present.