Yuan Dynasty
干荷叶（一）
刘秉忠
干荷叶，
色苍苍，
老柄风摇荡。
减清香，
越添黄。
都因昨夜一场霜，
寂寞在秋江上。
Translation
A dried lotus leaf, its color dark and faded; the old stem sways in the wind. Its clear fragrance diminishes, while yellow deepens. All because of last night's frost, it stands lonely on the autumn river.
Analysis
This short song is one of Liu Bingzhong's best-known sanqu pieces. It describes only a dried lotus leaf on an autumn river, yet the image carries a strong sense of decline, aging, and solitude. The opening presents the object plainly: a dried lotus leaf, dark in color, its old stem swaying in the wind. The word "old" is important. It makes the plant feel almost human, as if the lotus has entered the late stage of life. "The fragrance diminishes; yellow deepens" is the most precise line. With two opposing movements, Liu Bingzhong captures the process of decline. What was once fresh, fragrant, and green is losing its scent and gaining the color of decay. The frost explains the transformation. Frost is a natural event, but here it also becomes a force of fate. A single night of cold reveals the fragility of what had once been alive and beautiful. The final line gives the scene its emotional force. The dried lotus is not merely withered; it is lonely, standing on the autumn river. The image is sparse, cold, and still. The song never directly says that human life is brief or that beauty fades, but the implication is unmistakable. The dried lotus leaf becomes a figure for all things after their season has passed: fragrance gone, color faded, still trembling in the wind.
About the Author
Liu Bingzhong, courtesy name Zhonghui, originally named Liu Kan and literary name Cangchun Sanren, was a Yuan dynasty statesman and writer from Xingzhou. In his youth he became a Buddhist monk under the name Zicong, but he was later employed by Kublai Khan and played an important role in Yuan institutional planning and capital design. He rose to high office and was known for his broad learning in Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. Although few of his sanqu survive, "Dried Lotus Leaf" is especially famous for its spare language and deep sense of transience.