Yuan Dynasty
人月圆 · 卜居外家东园（二）
元好问
玄都观里桃千树，
花落水空流。
凭君莫问，
清泾浊渭，
去马来牛。
谢公扶病，
羊昙挥涕，
一醉都休。
古今几度，
生存华屋，
零落山丘。
Translation
In Xuandu Temple there were a thousand peach trees; the blossoms have fallen, and the water flows on in vain. Please, do not ask any more about clear Jing and muddy Wei, about horses going and oxen coming. Lord Xie was supported in illness; Yang Tan wiped away his tears. Let all of this end for now in a single drunkenness. How many times has this happened through ancient and modern days? While alive, one dwells in splendid houses; afterward, one falls scattered among the hills.
Analysis
This second piece in the "Choosing a Dwelling at the Eastern Garden" sequence is much darker than the first. The previous song presented a quiet life of moonlight, wind, and retreat. This one turns toward historical change, grief, and mortality. The opening alludes to Xuandu Temple and its peach blossoms, a famous literary image associated with prosperity, political change, and the passing of fortune. The thousand peach trees once suggested flourishing beauty, but now the flowers have fallen and only water flows emptily onward. The image is both scenic and historical. "Clear Jing and muddy Wei" refers to moral clarity, the distinction between purity and impurity, right and wrong. "Horses going and oxen coming" suggests the ceaseless reversals and substitutions of worldly affairs. The speaker says not to ask about them. This is not ignorance; it is the weariness of someone who has seen too much political and historical upheaval. The references to Lord Xie and Yang Tan evoke illness, death, and mourning in Eastern Jin history. Even the great and powerful fall ill and die; those who remain can only grieve. These allusions deepen the poem from private retirement into meditation on the fate of notable men and dynasties. "A single drunkenness" does not mean carefree pleasure. It is temporary suspension. Since history cannot be reversed and mortality cannot be solved, wine becomes a way to stop questioning for a moment. The final lines give the song its strongest philosophical weight. Across ancient and modern times, the pattern repeats: while alive, people may inhabit grand houses; after death, they are scattered among hills and graves. Splendor is temporary; disappearance is certain. The poem's emotional depth lies in this tension: Yuan Haowen seeks retreat, but he does not truly escape history. His quiet garden contains the memory of fallen states, dead friends, and vanishing glory.
About the Author
Yuan Haowen, courtesy name Yuzhi and literary name Yishan, was a major writer and historian of the late Jin and early Yuan periods. Born in Xiurong, Taiyuan, he was one of the most important literary figures of the Jin dynasty, accomplished in poetry, ci, qu, and prose. After the fall of the Jin, he devoted much effort to preserving Jin literary culture and compiled the influential anthology Zhongzhou ji. His works often express historical sorrow, memory of the fallen state, and reflections on rise and decline, while some late pieces turn toward landscape, retreat, and quiet living. His style is profound, somber, and emotionally substantial.