Listen to this articleSpring Thoughts
In Yan, grass grows like the bluest silk thread
In Qin, mulberries hang low on branches of green
My Lord, why do you think of coming home?
Now, when I am heart-broken and sad
Oh Spring Breeze, that I do not know
Why part the silk curtains of my bed?
Translating Li Bai’s Spring Thoughts
” In spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.” So said Lord Alfred Tennyson a thousand years after Li Bai. And anyone who has felt a gentle breeze in spring and felt the stirrings of love knows the feeling well.
Li Bai’s tells the story from the girl’s perspective. Alas, the rhyme does not translate into English.
Yan and Qin, 燕 and 秦
The story takes place in the ancient Chinese states of Yan and Qin, and dates to the time of the Warring States (somewhere around the 5th century BC). Yan, in northeastern coastal China, lies on the Bohai Sea. Qin lies to the south and west of Yan. Qin grew to be the strongest of the warring states.
Boy and girl, 君 and 妾
The relationship of our boy and girl is 君, lord (informally ‘you’) and 妾, concubine.
Concubine is not a term used in Western culture. In Chinese it means, a woman who lives with a man but has lower status than his wife or wives. Mistress or lover is a better alternative. She may not be his wife, but she certainly has a claim on his heart.
Spring Breeze, 春風
Spring Breeze, 春風 , referred to in line five also has a sexual connotation, meaning sexual union.
Pinyin
Yàn cǎo rú bì sī
qín sāng dī lǜ zhī
dāng jūn huái guī rì shì
qiè duàncháng shí
chūnfēng bù xiāngshí
héshì rù luó wéi
