Song Dynasty
卜算子·我住长江头
李之仪
我住长江头，君住长江尾。
日日思君不见君，共饮长江水。
此水几时休，此恨何时已。
只愿君心似我心，定不负相思意。
Translation
I dwell at the head of the Yangtze; you dwell at its far end. Day after day I long for you, yet cannot see you; we only share the waters of the same river. When will this river cease to flow? When will this longing come to an end? I only wish your heart were like mine; then this love would never be betrayed.
Analysis
The beauty of this ci lies in its plainness. It uses no elaborate allusions and no ornate rhetoric. Instead, it builds its emotional world through one simple image: the speaker lives at the head of the Yangtze, the beloved at its end. The river marks separation, yet it also connects them. Though they cannot meet, they drink from the same waters. Distance and intimacy are held in a single image. In the second half, the flowing river becomes a figure for unending longing. "When will this water cease? When will this sorrow end?" The questions are not meant to be answered; they deepen the sense of endlessness. The final couplet gives the poem its quiet force: the speaker asks only that the beloved's heart be like her own. Love here is not dramatic possession, but fidelity across distance. Its restraint is precisely what makes it so moving.
About the Author
Li Zhiyi was a ci poet of the Northern Song dynasty, styled Duanshu and known by the literary name Guxi Jushi. His writing is noted for its clarity, restraint, and emotional depth. Rather than relying on ornate language, he often expressed lasting feeling through simple and graceful imagery. "Bu Suanzi · I Dwell at the Head of the Yangtze" is his best-known work, admired for transforming geographical distance into an image of shared longing and unwavering devotion.