Two poems by Chang Qianxing [Tang Dynasty] Li Bai
The concubine's forehead is covered with hair, and the flowers are folded in front of the door. Lang came riding a bamboo horse and went around the bed to make green plums. Living together in Changqianli, the two children have no doubts about it. At the age of fourteen, she is a gentleman's wife, and she has not yet shown her shame. He lowered his head towards the dark wall and called out a thousand times. I raise my eyebrows at the age of fifteen, wishing to be like dust and ashes. How can I go to the husband-watching platform if I always keep my letter holding the pillar? The Sixteenth Lord traveled far away to Qutang Yanlidui. The month of May is untouchable, and the apes cry out in mourning from the sky. There are traces of late movements in front of the door, covered with green moss. The moss is too deep to be swept away, and the leaves fall early in the autumn wind. In August, butterflies come and fly over the grass in the West Garden. Feeling this hurts my heart, I sit and worry about my beauty getting old. Get off the bus in the morning and evening and send the book home in advance. It's not far to meet each other, until the wind blows in the sand.
I remember my concubine in the boudoir, and I didn’t recognize the smoke and dust. Marrying someone from Changgan, waiting for the wind in the sand. In May, the south wind blows, and I miss you at the lower ridge. In August, the west wind blows, and I want you to spread your wings. How sad it is to go and come, see less and part ways more. I arrived in Xiangtan in a few days, and my dream became more and more turbulent. The wind was so strong last night that the trees at the head of the river were broken. Miaomiao is dark and boundless, where are the pedestrians? It's a good time to ride on the floating clouds, and the best time is in the east of Lanzhu. Mandarin ducks on the green cattails, in the emerald brocade screen. Self-pity for more than fifteen years, the color is peach blossom red. As a business woman, she is worried about the water and the wind. Yuefu, Longing, Love Translation and Notes
Translation First, my hair just covered my forehead, and I was playing games with flowers in front of the door. You come here on a bamboo horse, play with the green plums, and chase each other around the bed. We live together in Changganli, and there has been no suspicion between the two of us since childhood. I married you as my wife when I was fourteen. I was so shy that I never showed a smile. He lowered his head and faced the darkness of the wall, not daring to look back despite repeated calls. I only relaxed my brows when I was fifteen and am willing to be with you forever. How could I have imagined that I would be on the platform to watch my husband, even if I would never change my faith until death? When you were sixteen years old, you left home and went to Yanlidui, Qutang Gorge.
When the water rises in May, the Yanlidui cannot touch each other, and the cries of the monkeys on both sides of the bank are heard in the sky. In front of the door are the footprints you left when you left home, gradually covered with green moss. The green moss is too thick to clean, the leaves fall, and autumn comes early. In August, yellow butterflies danced on the grass in the West Garden. I was very sad to see this scene, and therefore worried about the aging of my face. Whenever you want to get off San Bus and go home, please send me a letter from home in advance. Welcome you without fear of the long road, all the way to Changfengsha. Secondly, I thought that when I was in the boudoir, I had never seen smoke and dust; but after marrying a long-term man, I spent all day waiting for the wind and beauty in the sand. Appreciation
The poet Li Bai wrote many works that reflected women's lives, and "Two Poems on Changganxing" is one of the outstanding poems.
Changqian is a place name in present-day Nanjing, Jiangsu. An old Yuefu title includes "Changgan Qu". Volume 72 of Guo Maoqian's "Yuefu Poetry Collection" contains an ancient poem with five words and four sentences, describing a scene in which a girl was riding a boat to collect water chestnuts and encountered a tide on the way. Cui Hao, who was at the same time as Li Bai, wrote "Changgan Qu", and Cui Guofu wrote "Xiao Changgan Qu", both of which were written in the small Yuefu style of 50 to 40 years of age. They depict the life scenes of young men and women in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The contents of these poems are relatively simple. Li Bai's "Changganxing" has become longer and richer in content.