Yuan Dynasty

四块玉·紫芝路

Sì Kuài Yù · Zǐzhī Lù

马致远

Mǎ Zhìyuǎn

Yàn běi fēi, rén běi wàng,

雁北飞，人北望，

pāo shǎn shà Míngfēi yě Hàn jūnwáng.

抛闪煞明妃也汉君王。

Xiǎo Chányú bǎ zhǎn yā là là chàng.

小单于把盏呀刺刺唱。

Qīngcǎo pàn yǒu shōu lào niú,

青草畔有收酪牛，

Hēihé yuǎn yǒu shàn wěi yáng,

黑河远有扇尾羊，

tā zhǐ shì sī gùxiāng.

他只是思故乡。

Translation

The wild geese fly north; she gazes north as well. Lady Mingfei seems abandoned by the Han emperor, left beyond the frontier. The young Chanyu raises his cup and sings in the foreign tongue. By the green grass there are milk cows; far along the Black River, sheep flick their tails. Yet all she thinks of is her homeland.

Analysis

This lyric uses the story of Wang Zhaojun, or Lady Mingfei, to write about exile and longing. The opening contrast is sharp: geese can fly north, but the woman can only look north. The frontier scene is not exaggerated; it is built from ordinary details—grass, milk cows, the Black River, sheep. Precisely because these details are calm and concrete, the final line becomes more painful. The landscape may be livable, but it can never become home. Ma Zhiyuan compresses historical sorrow into a brief scene of looking, singing, and remembering.