Song of Eternal Sorrow is a famous poem written by Bai Juyi in the first year of Yuanhe (806). This poem was created by feeling the stories of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty and Yang Guifei. This long narrative poem describes the love tragedy of Xuanzong and Yang Guifei in the Anshi Rebellion. The following excerpt is from Song of Eternal Sorrow:
The emperor of China, eager to shake the beauty of an empire, has been in office for many years, searching and never finding it.
Until a child of the Yang family grew up in the inner room, almost before she grew up, and no one knew her.
However, due to the gift of heaven and no concealment, it was finally elected royal one day.
If she just turned her head and smiled, there were a hundred spells, and the powder and paint of six palaces disappeared without a trace.
It was early spring. They let her bathe in a pure pool to warm and smooth her creamy skin.
The first part of the poem describes how Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty put emphasis on color before the Anshi Rebellion, and finally got Yang Guifei, who said, "As long as she turns her head and smiles, there will be hundreds of spells, and the makeup of the sixth palace will go up in smoke." The poem describes the beauty and charm of Yang Guifei, who was favored by colored people after entering the palace, laying the groundwork for the later tragedy.
As a narrative poem that is no longer sung, "Song of Eternal Sorrow" has made great achievements in art. After reading this poem carefully, we seem to have returned to the Tang Dynasty, felt the love elegy between Xuanzong and Yang Yuhuan, and regretted that the Tang Dynasty did not flourish after the Anshi Rebellion.