252. Spring Song of the Palace | Wang Changling
Text
English translation
Original Chinese text
昨夜风开露井桃，未央前殿月轮高。
English translation
Last night the wind opened the peach blossoms beside the uncovered well, while the full moon stood high above the forecourt of Weiyang Palace.
An uncovered well has no pavilion over it. Weiyang, the Han imperial palace, supplies the poem's courtly setting. Newly opened blossoms and a high moon place the scene in a lucid spring night that still carries a chill.
Original Chinese text
平阳歌舞新承宠，帘外春寒赐锦袍。
English translation
The singer from Princess Pingyang's household has newly gained imperial favor; because spring remains cold beyond the curtain, she is granted a robe of brocade.
The phrase recalls Wei Zifu, who entered the Han court from Princess Pingyang's household and won the emperor's favor. The robe ostensibly keeps out the cold, but its public meaning is the bestowal of attention and status.
赏析 · Commentary
一件锦袍怎样说明恩宠 · How a Brocade Robe Signals Favor
诗里没有直接写帝王和歌女相见，只写风、桃花、月亮和赐下的锦袍。前三样属于所有人都能感到的春夜，最后一样只给某一个人。宫廷中的亲疏因此被浓缩在一件衣物上：帘外仍冷，有人却得到特别照顾。
The poem never stages a meeting between emperor and singer. It gives only wind, peach blossoms, moon, and the bestowed robe. The first three belong to the spring night shared by all; the last is reserved for one person. Courtly preference is thus compressed into a garment: the air outside the curtain remains cold, but someone receives particular care.
借汉宫写唐宫 · Writing the Tang Court Through the Han Court
未央宫、平阳公主和卫子夫都是汉代线索，唐诗却常借汉宫称说当朝宫廷。这样既给短诗提供读者熟悉的故事，也让诗人与现实保持距离。诗没有明说赞美还是讽刺，只把新宠获得锦袍的场面写得格外醒目，判断留给读者。
Weiyang Palace, Princess Pingyang, and Wei Zifu all belong to Han history, but Tang poets often used the Han court as a screen for court life nearer their own time. The device offers a familiar story while preserving distance from the present. The poem does not declare praise or satire; it simply makes the new favorite's robe conspicuous and leaves judgment to the reader.