original text
Tears wet Luo Jin's dream of not being able to sleep. Late at night, I heard a rhythmic song coming from the lobby.
Beauty is not old, has lost the elegance of the king, and sat on warm clothes until dawn.
To annotate ...
1, Gong Ci: This poem is also called Hou Gong Ci.
2. Tears are wet: still wet.
3. According to the song: beat according to the rhythm of the song.
4. Beauty: This refers to maids.
5. En: Jun En.
6. Smoked cage: a bamboo cage covered with incense burner. Incense burners are used to smoke clothes and quilts, not in the palace.
Rhyme translation
Tears wet towels, good dreams are hard to do;
Late at night, rhythmic singing came from the front hall.
Beauty is not decadent, but elegance is cut off;
She sat alone in a smoking cage until dawn.
translate
Tears soaked the towel and I couldn't sleep. I can't dream. Late at night, I heard the sound of singing in rhythm from the front hall.
Beauty has lost her favor before she is old, and leans on the smoke cage until dawn.
Brief analysis
This poem is a complaint of ancient court officials. The language is bright and natural, and the feelings are sincere and multi-layered, which carefully depicts the psychological changes of the fallen ladies.
Comment and analysis
The first sentence is that I can't sleep at night and dream that the king is very lucky; The second sentence suddenly smells the singing in the front hall, and Wang Xing is hopeless; In three sentences, the beauty is still there, and your charm has been broken; After writing four sentences, I imagined that the king might be lucky, so I lay in a smoking cage and sat until dawn, and finally it was a bubble. The language is bright and natural, and the feelings are sincere and multi-layered, which finely depicts the psychological state of the fallen ladies.
Distinguish and appreciate
There are many poems about palace grievances in Tang poetry. Famous poets, such as Wang Changling and Li Bai, wrote many poems about palace grievances, exposed the "evil and cruelty" of feudal system forcing concubines, and expressed deep sympathy for women. This kind of poems are often favored by new people to contrast the sad mood of the old people after they fall out of favor, and so are Bai Juyi's harem poems. But it is different from other poems describing palace grievances, and it also implies the poet's political frustration.
The first sentence "I can't dream with tears in my eyes" means that my clothes are wet because of sadness, so I can't sleep and I am very sad. The second sentence is about singing and dancing in the front hall, which lasted until late at night, so it was fun. One side is so sad that tears wet his clothes, while the other side is addicted to singing and dancing. Sad people always hear the singing and dancing of the happy side. In contrast, people who are sad are more sad.
The third sentence, "Beauty is broken before she is old", reveals the reason why imperial secretary is sad. Because the emperor dotes on her new lover, she will never be loved by the emperor again. For an imperial secretary who lives in the palace deeply, nature is a sad thing. "Sit Lightly in a Smoke Cage" and "Dreamless" echo each other from a distance. This detail fully shows the imperial secretary's inner scars, which are still being hit hard endlessly. The poet's other poem "Poem of Palace Complaints" said: "Three thousand ladies-in-waiting have a rouge face, and there are no tears for several spring days." It can also be used as a footnote to this poem.