Yuan Dynasty
庆东原·黄金缕
白朴
黄金缕，碧玉箫，
温柔乡里寻常到。
青春过了，
朱颜渐老，
白发凋骚。
则待强簪花，
又恐傍人笑。
Translation
Golden threads, jade flutes—once I often entered the realm of tenderness and pleasure. But youth has passed; the rosy face grows old, and white hair comes disheveled. I would still force a flower into my hair, yet fear that others might laugh.
Analysis
The lyric looks back on sensual youth from the threshold of old age. The opening images—gold thread and jade flute—suggest ornament, music, and pleasure. But the poem turns sharply with the passing of youth. The contrast between rosy face and white hair is familiar, yet Bai Pu makes it intimate through the final gesture: wanting to put a flower in one’s hair but fearing ridicule. Aging is not abstract here. It is embarrassment, memory, vanity, and self-awareness in a single small act.