303. Qingping Melody (Second of Three) | Li Bai
Text
English translation
Original Chinese text
一枝红艳露凝香，云雨巫山枉断肠。
English translation
A single spray, red and bright, its dew congealed with fragrance; beside her the clouds and rain of Mount Wu only break the heart in vain.
A single spray, red and bright uses a flower for the woman, telling how lovely she is like a blossom beaded with dew; its dew congealed with fragrance means the dew gathers on the flower and its scent stays unspent. The clouds and rain of Mount Wu draws on Song Yu's Rhapsody on Mount Wu, the tale of the goddess of Mount Wu meeting the King of Chu, and stands for love between man and woman. Only break the heart in vain means even such a legend cannot match the woman before him and merely makes one sad. (The Gutenberg base text reads red and bright; the chinese-poetry dataset reads luxuriant, a near synonym; I follow the common reading.)
Original Chinese text
借问汉宫谁得似？可怜飞燕倚新妆。
English translation
May I ask, in the Han palace who could resemble her? Only the lovely Flying Swallow, leaning on her new makeup.
May I ask is a polite query, let me ask. The Han palace means the Han emperor's rear palace. Could resemble means could be like, could compare. Lovely means endearing, to be cherished. Flying Swallow is Zhao Feiyan, the favored consort of Emperor Cheng of Han, famed for her lightness and for a dance on a palm; leaning on her new makeup means it is her fresh painting and dressing that make her fair. The comparison to Feiyan is praise, and also hints that she needed her adornment, unlike the woman before him, whose beauty is inborn.
赏析 · Commentary
花与人合写 · Flower and Woman Written as One
起句以“一枝红艳”写花，也写人，花人难分。“露凝香”三字把清晨的湿润、花的气味都写出来了。第二句拿巫山云雨的传说作陪衬：那样的佳话，也比不上眼前这一枝。
The opening line writes a single red spray, both the flower and the woman, so the two cannot be told apart. Its dew congealed with fragrance brings out the morning damp and the flower's scent. The second line sets the legend of Mount Wu's clouds and rain alongside as a foil: even that famous romance is no match for this one spray.
拿赵飞燕来比 · Compared to Zhao Feiyan
后两句用赵飞燕作比。飞燕是汉成帝的宠妃，以美色与舞姿闻名，用来比杨贵妃本是很高的赞誉；但“倚新妆”三字又留了余地——飞燕之美要靠妆饰，而眼前人不必。赞中有分寸，是应制诗里少见的巧思。
The closing couplet compares her to Zhao Feiyan. Feiyan, Emperor Cheng's beloved consort, was famed for beauty and dance, and to liken Yang Guifei to her is high praise; yet the words leaning on her new makeup leave room—Feiyan's beauty needed adornment, while this woman does not. Praise with a measure of restraint is a rare touch in an occasional poem.