Du Mu - "One of Two Farewell Songs"
Pingping curled up for more than thirteen years,
The cardamom sprouts are in early February.
The spring breeze is ten miles away on Yangzhou Road,
It is better to roll up the bead curtain.
Notes:
Pingping: Same as Pingting, beautiful appearance.
Niao Niao: slender, soft and beautiful.
Cardamom: A plant that looks like a banana. It blooms in early summer, so it has not yet bloomed in early February. Later, a girl aged thirteen or fourteen was called the Cardamom Year.
Shaotou: Describes delicateness.
Spring Breeze Ten Miles: refers to the long bustling streets. Yangzhou is mostly used in Tang and Song poetry.
Rhyme translation:
The beautiful posture and light demeanor are the thirteenth year of life,
Just like a cardamom flower in bud in early February.
I have seen all the young beauties in the ten-mile long streets of Yangzhou City.
No one can compare to her in rolling up bead curtains and selling pretty pink and white.
Appreciation:
These two poems were written by the poet in the ninth year of Yamato (835), when he was transferred to the supervisory censor, left Yangzhou for Chang'an, and separated from the prostitutes.
The first song focuses on her beauty, praising her as the most beautiful singer in Yangzhou. The first sentence describes the girl's posture and body, her youthful charm; the second sentence uses flowers as a metaphor for people, describing her petite beauty; the third and fourth sentences use stars to support the moon, describing that there are many beauties in Yangzhou, but she is the only one who is beautiful. In terms of techniques, one is strong and the other is weak, and it can be said that "it is not a cloud to get rid of Wushan". The language is sharp and fluent, and the emotions are sincere and clear, and they are heartfelt.