Song Dynasty
诉衷情·花前月下暂相逢
花前月下暂相逢，苦恨阻从容。
何况酒醒梦断，花谢月朦胧。
花不尽，月无穷，两心同。
此时愿作，杨柳千丝，绊惹春风。
Translation
Before flowers and beneath the moon we meet only for a moment, bitterly hating the obstacles that keep us from lingering together. Worse still, when wine has cleared and the dream is broken, flowers have fallen and the moon grows dim. Flowers seem endless, the moon inexhaustible, and our two hearts are one. At this moment I wish to become the thousand strands of willow, catching and holding the spring wind so it cannot pass away.
Analysis
This lyric is about clinging to a brief encounter. “Before flowers and beneath the moon” offers an ideal scene of meeting, but the word “briefly” immediately introduces regret. The lovers cannot remain at ease together. “Wine cleared, dream broken” shifts the poem from the sweetness of the meeting to the emptiness after waking. Flowers fall, the moon grows dim, and the outer world follows the emotional decline. The second stanza speaks in the language of wish, but the wish reveals helplessness. Flowers and moon may seem endless, and the two hearts may be united, yet time and separation cannot be held. The desire to become willow strands that catch the spring wind turns a delicate image into a figure of resistance against departure. Zhang Xian’s gift for expressing subtle feeling through soft natural images is fully present here.
About the Author
Zhang Xian, style name Ziye, was a Northern Song ci poet from Wucheng. He served in local office and later lived around Huzhou and Hangzhou. Zhang was known for delicate, skillful lyrics that captured subtle feeling through images of light, shadows, curtains, willows, and moonlight. He was famously nicknamed “Zhang of the Three Shadows” for his use of the word “shadow.” His work stands between refined literati lyric and the more musical urban culture of Song ci.