Song of Lasting Regret lines 55-60, Bai Juyi (Tang Shi #71)
Wednesday, 27 May 2020 14:51![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lnhammerBoth ruler and officials looked, wept on their robes,
Gazed toward the capital, and let their horses return—
Return to pools and gardens all as they were before—
The lotus of Taiye Pools and willows of Weiyang Palace—
Lotuses like her face and willows like her brows—
And in response, who wouldn’t have their tears stream down?
君臣相顾尽沾衣，
东望都门信马归。
归来池苑皆依旧，
太液芙蓉未央柳。
芙蓉如面柳如眉，
对此如何不泪垂。
Next installment, now with added manly tears. Taiye and Weiyang, northwest of Chang’an, were both built during the Han Dynasty, making them another gesture towards the nominal setting. Idiom: wept on their robes (l.55) is literally “soaked” their clothes. Lost in translation: they gaze “east” at the capital’s “gate” (l.56).
(And with that, we’re exactly halfway through.)
---L.
Gazed toward the capital, and let their horses return—
Return to pools and gardens all as they were before—
The lotus of Taiye Pools and willows of Weiyang Palace—
Lotuses like her face and willows like her brows—
And in response, who wouldn’t have their tears stream down?
君臣相顾尽沾衣，
东望都门信马归。
归来池苑皆依旧，
太液芙蓉未央柳。
芙蓉如面柳如眉，
对此如何不泪垂。
Next installment, now with added manly tears. Taiye and Weiyang, northwest of Chang’an, were both built during the Han Dynasty, making them another gesture towards the nominal setting. Idiom: wept on their robes (l.55) is literally “soaked” their clothes. Lost in translation: they gaze “east” at the capital’s “gate” (l.56).
(And with that, we’re exactly halfway through.)
---L.