Song Dynasty
相思令·蘋满溪
蘋满溪，柳绕堤。
相送行人溪水西。
回时陇月低。
烟霏霏，风凄凄。
重倚朱门听马嘶。
寒鸥相对飞。
Translation
Duckweed fills the stream, and willows circle the embankment. I escort the traveler westward along the creek. When I return, the moon has sunk low over the hills. Mist drifts thickly; the wind is cold and sorrowful. Again I lean against the red gate and listen to the horse’s distant neighing. Cold gulls fly facing one another across the water.
Analysis
This short lyric captures the after-feeling of farewell. Its emotional movement is complete despite its brevity. The opening images of duckweed and willows mark the road of parting with softness and entanglement. After the traveler has been escorted westward, the poem does not describe the traveler’s disappearance; instead, it focuses on the one who returns alone under a low moon. The repeated sounds in “mist drifting, wind sorrowful” create a cold, blurred atmosphere. Leaning at the red gate and listening for the horse’s neigh, the speaker remains bound to the departure even after it has happened. The paired gulls intensify the loneliness by contrast. The poem never directly declares longing; it lets longing remain in the road back, the moon, the mist, and the lingering sound of the horse.
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.