274. Sent to Zhang of the Waterways Before the Examination | Zhu Qingyu
Text
English translation
Original Chinese text
洞房昨夜停红烛，待晓堂前拜舅姑。
English translation
In the bridal chamber the red candles burned through the night; at dawn the bride must go before the hall and bow to her husband's parents.
The red candles burning all night are the wedding candles. Father- and mother-in-law are the husband's parents; to bow to them is the first trial a new bride must pass, and so she lies awake all night anxious about the morning.
Original Chinese text
妆罢低声问夫婿，画眉深浅入时无。
English translation
Her toilet done, she asks her husband in a low voice: are my penciled brows too dark or too light for the fashion?
Whether they suit the fashion is the question. Penciling the brows is a trivial matter of the inner room, yet she asks her husband gravely, afraid of displeasing his parents the next day. The quieter and more specific the question, the greater her unease. (By an old reading, the bride stands for the poet and the brows for his writing, so that he is really asking Zhang of the Waterways whether his work suits the examiner.)
赏析 · Commentary
新娘的一夜与一妆 · A Bride's Night and Her Toilet
前两句写夜，后两句写晓；前两句写等待，后两句写完成。全诗抓的正是拜见公婆前那一刻：妆已化好，心却没底。诗人不写公婆的容貌，也不写丈夫的回答，只写这一问，把新娘的紧张留在悬念里。
The first couplet is night, the second is dawn; the first is waiting, the second is completion. The poem catches the very moment before the bride meets her parents-in-law: the toilet is finished, but her mind is not at ease. The poet shows neither the parents' faces nor the husband's answer, only the question, leaving her nervousness suspended.
借画眉问文章 · Asking About Brows, Meaning His Writing
旧题说这是朱庆余应试前写给张籍的诗。以新娘比应试人，以公婆比主考，以“画眉深浅”比文章是否合式。表层是一段闺房对话，里层是一次谨慎的请教；两层都讲得通，诗的好处也正在这里。（此为传统解读，诗中文字本身只写新娘问妆。）
An old account holds that Zhu Qingyu sent this poem to Zhang Ji before an examination. The bride stands for the candidate, the parents-in-law for the examiners, and the depth of the brows for whether his writing fits the taste of the day. On the surface it is a conversation in the inner room; underneath it is a careful request for guidance. Both readings work, and that is where the poem's excellence lies. (This is the traditional interpretation; the words themselves describe only a bride asking about her makeup.)