Yuan Dynasty
潘妃曲（一）
商挺
带月披星担惊怕，
久立纱窗下。
等候他。
蓦听得门外地皮儿踏，
则道是冤家，
原来风动荼蘼架。
Translation
Under the moon and stars, she waits in fear and trembling, standing for a long time beneath the gauze window. She is waiting for him. Suddenly she hears what seems to be footsteps outside the door. She thinks it must be that troublesome beloved, but it is only the wind stirring the tumi flower trellis.
Analysis
This short song captures a young woman waiting at night for her lover. In only a few lines, it moves through fear, expectation, illusion, and disappointment. "Under the moon and stars" establishes the late-night setting. She is waiting secretly, and the phrase "in fear and trembling" suggests anxiety: fear of being discovered, fear of danger, or fear that he may not come. "Standing for a long time beneath the gauze window" gives the scene its emotional pressure. The window marks the boundary between inside and outside. She remains at that boundary, watching and listening for someone expected from beyond it. "She is waiting for him" is deliberately plain. Yuan sanqu often uses direct, colloquial speech rather than refined indirection. The simplicity makes her feeling more immediate. The sudden sound outside the door creates the dramatic moment. Because she longs for him so intensely, she interprets the noise as footsteps. "That troublesome beloved" translates "冤家," a common affectionate term for a lover, mixing complaint and tenderness. The ending reverses the expectation: it was only wind moving the tumi flower trellis. The disappointment is light, but psychologically exact. A person who waits too eagerly can turn any sound into the arrival of the beloved. The charm of the piece lies in its smallness. It does not need grand declarations of love. A night window, a mistaken sound, and a flower trellis are enough to reveal the whole emotional state of a young woman in love.
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 well known for its lively treatment of romantic meetings, longing, waiting, and seasonal scenes.