Song Dynasty
浣溪沙·二月和风到碧城
二月和风到碧城。
万条千缕绿相迎。
舞烟眠雨过清明。
妆镜巧眉偷叶样，
歌楼妍曲借枝名。
晚秋霜霰莫无情。
Translation
In the second month, a gentle spring wind reaches the green city, and countless willow strands greet it with fresh color. They dance in mist and sleep in rain until the Qingming season passes. Before the mirror, a woman's fine brows seem to borrow the shape of willow leaves; in the singing tower, graceful melodies borrow the willow's name. When late autumn frost and sleet arrive, may they not be too cruel to these tender branches.
Analysis
This is a lyric on willows, but its real delicacy comes from linking the willow's softness with feminine adornment and song-house culture. The first half begins with season: in the second month, spring wind arrives, and thousands of green strands seem to welcome it. The line about dancing in mist and sleeping in rain is especially subtle. 'Dancing' gives movement; 'sleeping' gives languor. The willow becomes animate. In the second half, the poem turns from plant to human world. The painted brows before the mirror borrow the shape of willow leaves, while songs in the tower borrow the willow's name. Sight becomes music. The final line shifts suddenly to late autumn frost and sleet. This is not merely a seasonal contrast; it is a gesture of pity toward beauty that is tender and vulnerable. Yan Jidao does not state a love story, but through the willow's spring grace and autumn fragility he evokes the fate of all delicate things.
About the Author
Yan Jidao, courtesy name Shuyuan and literary name Xiaoshan, was a Northern Song lyricist from Linchuan in Fuzhou and the seventh son of Yan Shu. Born into a distinguished family, he nevertheless lived through disappointment and decline. His ci often return to past gatherings, singers, music, separation, and memory, setting present loneliness against vanished splendor. Rather than argue, his poems move through dream, recollection, and the ache of what cannot be recovered.