Responding to Jian’s Poem, Wei Jian’s Deceased Concubine
Wei Jian, an Advanced Scholar without rank, had a beautiful concubine who clasped her heart and died. Recalling a sorrow he could not get over, he lifted wine and recited a poem. [TN: read the second poem now] One day, he suddenly dreamed of his concubine, who said that later they’ll have time (together), then she matched his previous poem. [TN: first poem] Jian spent the days gloomy and depressed, and in another dream, the concubine said, “Soon we’ll meet each other at last.” When he came to, his mind still muzzy, he replied by inscribing a poem. [TN: third poem] Before long, his time came, and everyone marked the omen.
The spring rains keep on drizzling, I cannot see the sky—
Outside the gate of every house, the willows blend with mist.
Nowadays my gut feels slashed, I drip down tears in vain.
I laugh with joy, again recalling parting’s for just a year.
Appendix
Poem of Jian Mourning His Deceased Concubine
A treasured sword becomes a dragon, returning to the sky—
Chang’e obeys the moon, descending to the Yellow Springs.
With a single cup of wine, I face the green spring evening.
Lonely, I write on the window, I hate sleeping alone.
Inscribed After the Dream
The white waves boundless, ever boundless, go and don’t return—
The floating clouds fly to the end, the sun declines in the west.
Upon the tomb of Qin’s first ruler are thousand-year-old trees—
His silver ducks and golden mallards also turn to dust.
和检诗
作者：韦检亡姬
〈检举进士不第，有美姬捧心而卒，追痛不胜，举酒吟诗。一日忽梦姬，言有后期，遂和前诗。检终日悒悒，更梦姬曰：“即遂相见矣。”觉来，神魂恍惚，复题诗一首。未几，果即世，皆符兆。〉
春雨蒙蒙不见天，
家家门外柳和烟。
如今肠断空垂泪，
欢笑重追别有年。
〈附〉
检悼亡姬诗
宝剑化龙归碧落，
嫦娥随月下黄泉。
一杯酒向青春晚，
寂寞书窗恨独眠。
梦后自题
白浪漫漫去不回，
浮云飞尽日西颓。
始皇陵上千年树，
银鸭金凫也变灰。
An Advanced Scholar “without rank” has passed the imperial exam but without distinction—good enough to be appointed an official but not marked as a rising star. Chang’e is a moon goddess, formerly a mortal but who ascended after stealing the elixir of immortality. First Emperor Shi Huangdi was the founder of the Qin Dynasty and the first emperor of a united China; trees were deliberately planted on his mausoleum to make it look like a natural hill, making them dubious as a symbol of universal decay.
---L.