Song Dynasty
卜算子·我住长江头
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 live at the head of the Yangtze; you live at its end. Day after day I think of you and cannot see you, though we drink from the same river. When will this water cease to flow? When will this sorrow come to an end? I only wish your heart were like mine; then you would surely not betray this longing.
Analysis
This is one of the clearest and most memorable love lyrics in Song ci. Its language is simple, yet its emotional structure is profound. The opening gives only a geography: I am at the river's head; you are at its tail. Distance is immense. But the next line transforms separation into connection: both lovers drink the same Yangtze water. The river divides them, yet it also joins them in a shared world. In the second half, the flowing river becomes a measure of endless longing. As the water does not cease, neither does sorrow. The closing wish is not accusation or demand; it is a pledge shaped as hope. If your heart is like mine, this longing will not be betrayed. The lyric's force comes from its refusal of ornament. Like a folk song, it is direct, lucid, and unwavering.
About the Author
Li Zhiyi, courtesy name Duanshu and known as Guxi Jushi, was a Northern Song writer from Wudi in Cangzhou. Admired by Su Shi and connected with the Su school, he later suffered political setbacks and exile. His lyrics are not ornate; they often rely on lucid, simple language to convey enduring feeling. Bu Suan Zi: I Live at the Head of the Yangtze is his best-known work, using the river as a shared space to turn distance into fidelity.