Yuan Dynasty
水仙子·西湖
Shuǐ xiān zǐ · Xī hú
Chūn fēng jiāo mǎ Wǔlíng ér, nuǎn rì Xī hú sān yuè shí.
Guǎn xián chù shuǐ yīng huā shì, bù zhī yīn bú dào cǐ.
Yí gē yí jiǔ yí shī.
Shān guò yǔ pín méi dài, liǔ tuō yān duī bìn sī,
Kě xǐ shā shuì zú de Xī Shī.
Translation
In the spring wind, proud young riders from noble quarters come to West Lake; warm sunlight fills the lake in the third month. Music touches the water, orioles and flowers turn the shore into a lively spring market. Those without taste for beauty would never come here. It is a place made for singing, wine, and poetry. After rain, the hills frown like dark-painted brows; willows trail through mist like loosened hair. West Lake is as lovely as Xi Shi just waking from sleep.
Analysis
The piece does not present West Lake as a silent landscape. It turns the lake into a space of refined pleasure, filled with spring wind, horses, sunlight, music, orioles, flowers, wine, and poetry. The final comparison to Xi Shi gives the scene a distinctly Jiangnan sensibility: beauty is not monumental, but soft, fresh, and intimate. The poem’s force lies in its effortless pleasure. Ma Zhiyuan does not moralize; he shows a place where sensory delight and poetic taste naturally meet.
About the Author
Ma Zhiyuan was one of the major dramatists and sanqu writers of the Yuan dynasty, traditionally grouped with Guan Hanqing, Bai Pu, and Zheng Guangzu as one of the Four Masters of Yuan drama. His work ranges from historical drama to travel lament, withdrawal, and reflections on worldly impermanence. His language is often plain yet resonant, capable of both bleak grandeur and delicate lyric grace.