⬅️ 唐诗 Tang Poems
锦瑟
李商隐锦瑟无端五十弦，一弦一柱思华年。
庄生晓梦迷蝴蝶，望帝春心托杜鹃。
沧海月明珠有泪，蓝田日暖玉生烟。
此情可待成追忆，只是当时已惘然。
A Gorgeous Zither
by Li Shangyin (813-858 AD)Why does this gorgeous zither have fifty strings,
Every its string and tuning key remind me of my youth.
Master Zhuangzi lost in his dream of butterflies,
And to cuckoos Emperor Wang gave over his embrace for spring.
Under the moonlight in the ocean, pearls are shining like mermaid's tears,
Warmed by the sun, Lantian Mountain is like a fine jade in mist.
Why am I in search of this lost feelings today?
It's only because I was an unenlightened youth by then.
Allusions in this poem: *"Master Zhuangzi lost in his dream of butterflies." Master Zhuangzi (庄子, about 369-286 BC), also known by his name Zhuangzhou (庄周), was a Chinese philosopher during Warring States period. Regarding himself as a follower of Laozi (老子，also written as Lao-tze,a philosopher and the founder of Taoism), Zhuangzi was another important representative of the Taoism and the author of The Zhuangzi, a foundational text of Taoism. The book Zhuangzi is not only a philosophical work but also a literary masterpiece which has significant influence on writers and poets in China for more than 2000 years. It consists of many anecdotes and fables. The Butterfly Dream was one of the most well-known stories in this book. Once Zhuang Zhou dreamed he was a butterfly, vividly and lively. The butterfly was happy with itself and did not know he was Zhuang Zhou. Shortly after a while, he woke up and was surprised by his dream. He could not tell if he was Zhuang Zhou who became a butterfly in dream, or if he was a butterfly who became Zhuang Zhou in dream.
*"And to cuckoos Emperor Wang gave over his embrace for spring." Once upon a time there was an evil dragon living in upstream of the River Min (岷江，Sichuan Province). The dragon often made flood to people living in the downstream. A hunter named Du Yu (杜宇) defeated the dragon and had the flood under control. With the support from people Du Yu came to the throne and became the Emperor of Wang. Emperor Wang used to have a hunting buddy who got covetous of Emperor Wang's power. One day during hunting trip, he imprisoned Emperor Wang in mountains and took the throne. Emperor Wang was imprisoned till his death. After he died, he turned into a cuckoo. Every year in spring, he flied back to his palace and sang in grief. He did not stop singing until he cried blood. That is the story of Emperor Wang.
*"Under the moonlight in the ocean, pearls are shining like mermaid's tears." In Chinese legend, there were people-like mermaid called Jiao People (鲛人) living in the south sea. Ancient Chinese people believed pearls were 鲛人's tear drops.
*"warmed by the sun Lantian Mountain is like a fine jade in mist." Lantian Mountain is located in Lantian County, under the administration of Xi'an, Shannxi Province (蓝田县，陕西西安). In history it was known to be productive of fine jade. Lantian jade was one of the four celebrated jades in China. As Lu Ji (陆机,261-303 AD) said in his book "Essay on Literature (文赋): "With jade contained in stones the mountain would be misty. With pearls in water the river would be charming (石韫玉而山辉，水怀珠而川媚)".