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lnhammerThe Rear Palace had its elegant beauties, three thousand of them:
The love of these three thousand he gave to just one.
Make-up complete in her gold house, charm served at night;
Banquet over in the jade tower, drink mingled with spring.
Her sisters, brothers, old and young, all granted land—
Splendor to envy that bore them new family status.
后宫佳丽三千人，
三千宠爱在一身。
金屋妆成娇侍夜，
玉楼宴罢醉和春。
姊妹弟兄皆列土，
可怜光彩生门户。
Another installment. Life’s good at the top, innit? The third line glances back to the supposed Han Dynasty setting: Han Emperor Wu built Consort Jiao (literally, "charm") a golden house. In the fourth, the operative overtone to "spring" is "wantonness." The two lines together are an excellent example of a parallel couplet.
(When I finish all 300 Tang Poems, I want to cross-reference the hell out of this against how other poets handle certain episodes.)
---L.
The love of these three thousand he gave to just one.
Make-up complete in her gold house, charm served at night;
Banquet over in the jade tower, drink mingled with spring.
Her sisters, brothers, old and young, all granted land—
Splendor to envy that bore them new family status.
后宫佳丽三千人，
三千宠爱在一身。
金屋妆成娇侍夜，
玉楼宴罢醉和春。
姊妹弟兄皆列土，
可怜光彩生门户。
Another installment. Life’s good at the top, innit? The third line glances back to the supposed Han Dynasty setting: Han Emperor Wu built Consort Jiao (literally, "charm") a golden house. In the fourth, the operative overtone to "spring" is "wantonness." The two lines together are an excellent example of a parallel couplet.
(When I finish all 300 Tang Poems, I want to cross-reference the hell out of this against how other poets handle certain episodes.)
---L.
no subject
Date: 14 April 2020 20:27 (UTC)What is the word for envy? I don't see the ones I know.
no subject
Date: 14 April 2020 20:48 (UTC)no subject
Date: 14 April 2020 21:17 (UTC)no subject
Date: 14 April 2020 21:19 (UTC)