Song Dynasty
卜算子·春情·春透水波明
春透水波明，寒峭花枝瘦。
极目烟中百尺楼，人在楼中否？
四和袅金凫，双陆思纤手。
拟倩东风浣此情，情更浓于酒。
Translation
Spring has entered the water, making its ripples bright; the cold is still sharp, and flowering branches look thin. I gaze toward a hundred-foot tower veiled in mist and wonder whether the one I long for is there. Fragrant incense curls from a golden duck-shaped burner; the backgammon board makes me think of her slender hands. I would ask the east wind to wash this feeling away, yet it is stronger than wine.
Analysis
This lyric presents spring longing not through lush color but through cool clarity and distance. The opening couplet is finely balanced: spring has entered the water and made it bright, yet cold remains on the branches and makes the blossoms look thin. That coexistence of warmth and chill mirrors the feeling of early-spring yearning. The gaze then moves toward a tall tower in mist. The question 'Is the person there?' holds the whole poem in uncertainty. In the second half, interior objects become instruments of memory: incense from a golden duck-shaped burner, the fragrance known as sihe, a board game, and the thought of slender hands. The beloved is absent, but the objects she touched or might have touched intensify her presence. The final line is the poem's finest turn. The speaker wishes the east wind could wash this feeling away, yet longing is stronger than wine. The lyric is restrained, not weak; pale, not empty. Its feeling is hidden in the precision of its things.
About the Author
Qin Zhan, courtesy name Chudu, was a Northern Song lyricist about whom little biographical information survives. Though few of his works remain, Bu Suan Zi: Spring Longing is valued for its pale clarity and restrained feeling. His style shows the influence of the Jiangxi poetic manner and the circle around Huang Tingjian, moving from precise scenery into inward longing without heavy ornament. This lyric sets spring water, thin blossoms, a mist-veiled tower, incense, and a board game into a quiet yet intense scene of yearning.