白居易诗
Poems of Bai Juyi
Index
白牡丹
White Peony
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白花冷澹无人爱 亦占芳名道牡丹 |
White blossom, tranquil, cold, unloved. Yet by your fragrance, we all know your name. |
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应似东宫白赞善 被人还唤作朝官 |
In the Eastern Palace, they would praise your good in vain Unless they could turn your head by giving it a title. |
-- 白居易
废话
This poem is from 815, during Bai Juyi's stint of exile in an imperial office in Sichuan. It is certainly not about a flower. Clearly, he has a particular someone in mind to be represented as the white peony. And in spite of Bai Juyi being only 33 here and well-known as an idealist, I perceive a bit of cynicism in the final line. Bai Juyi does live as an intelligent man in the real word and sees things as they are. Remaining a sentimental idealist at the same time is a measure of his greatness.