Listen to this article顾太清（1799-约1876），清朝女词人。名春，字子春，号太清。满族。精于词学，尤重周邦彦、姜夔之作致力于咏物、题画。与纳兰性德（即成容若）齐名，有“满洲词人，男中成容若，女中太清春”之称。也工于诗。有《东海渔歌》《天游阁集》等。
顾太清·《惜分钗·看童子抖空中》
春将至，
晴天气，
消闲坐看儿童戏。
借天风，
鼓其中，
结彩为绳，
截竹为筒。
空！空！
人间事，
观愚智，
大都制器存深意。
理无穷，
事无终，
实则能鸣，
虚则能容。
冲！冲！
Xi fen chai:
Watching the Children Play with a Kongzhong1 Barrel-Twirl
Gu Taiqing
Spring’s nearly here.
Sunny-sky weather…
Sitting idly by, I watch the children at play.
Borrowing high winds.
To drum up inside . . .
Knotting colored yarn as string.
Sawing up bamboo for the barrel.
Kong Kong.
Here in humans’ realm.
Observe fool and sage.
Nearly all make vessels to contain a deep intent.
Nature’s laws endless.
Matters without cease.
What’s full can make sound.
What’s empty can receive.
Chong Chong.2
1. The kongzhong is a child’s noise-making toy of hollow bamboo manipulated by a string. The instrument’s name suggests the void (kong), a notion on which Gu plays here in Daoistic mode.
2. The word chong used here invokes chapter 5 of the Dao De Jing, which may be an onomatopoeia, but its lexical meanings include “a whirling sound; a dashing movement through air; limpid/placid.”
（David McCraw 译）
