Yuan Dynasty
潘妃曲（三）
商挺
冷冷清清人寂静，
斜把鲛绡凭。
和泪听，
蓦听得门外地皮儿鸣。
则道是多情，
却原来翠竹把纱窗映。
Translation
All is cold and clear, with no human sound; she leans sideways, holding a thin silk tear-cloth. Listening through her tears, she suddenly hears the ground outside the door make a sound. She thinks it must be her affectionate lover, but it is only green bamboo casting its shadow on the gauze window.
Analysis
This "Panfei Tune" depicts a woman waiting at night and mistaking small signs for the arrival of her lover. It is close in situation to the earlier piece about wind stirring the tumi trellis, but this one is quieter, colder, and more solitary. The opening line sets the emotional temperature: cold, empty, and silent. The silence is not only external. It mirrors the woman's loneliness. The image of her leaning with a silk handkerchief suggests exhaustion and tears. "Shark silk" is a legendary fine fabric often associated with tear cloths in classical literature. Here it implies that she has already been waiting and crying for some time. "Listening through her tears" is psychologically precise. A person waiting for someone becomes intensely alert. Every sound may seem meaningful. The sudden noise outside the door creates a moment of hope. She thinks the lover has come. The phrase "her affectionate one" carries both longing and tenderness. The ending reverses the expectation. No one has arrived. The sound or movement she perceived is only the shadow of green bamboo on the window. The beloved remains absent, and the room returns to silence. The song's emotional power lies in misrecognition. Longing makes the world unstable: wind, shadow, and small sounds become possible signs of the person one desires. The disappointment is small in action, but large in feeling.
About the Author
Shang Ting, courtesy name Mengqing, also recorded as Mengqing with a different character, and literary name Zuoshan Laoren, was a Yuan dynasty sanqu writer and statesman from Jiyin in Caozhou. He was the nephew of Shang Dao and associated with writers such as Yuan Haowen and Yang Huan during the Jin-Yuan transition. He later served the Yuan court in high office, including positions such as Grand Councilor and Deputy Commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs. Few of his sanqu survive, but his "Panfei Tune" sequence is known for lively depictions of romantic meetings, longing, waiting, boudoir scenes, and seasonal moods.