孟郊诗
Poems of Meng Jiao
Index
湘妃怨
Sister-Queens' Lament
（一作湘灵祠）
(On visiting their sacred shrine.)
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南巡竟不返 二妃怨逾积 万里丧蛾眉 潇湘水空碧 |
When Shun the emperor disappeared into the South, His two wives disappeared into a mounting sadness. All three were lost in that same vastness that The Xiaoxiang River finds within the sea. |
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冥冥荒山下 古庙收贞魄 乔木深青春 清光满瑶席 |
Below the distant barren mountains, An ancient shrine received their faithful souls. Stately trees enclose their eternal youth And pure light fills their precious caskets. |
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搴芳徒有荐 灵意殊脉脉 玉珮不可亲 徘徊烟波夕 |
If you try to seize their famous fragrance, You find their loving-kindness out of reach. Their remains and jewelled pendants are no comfort In the thick and lingering incense of the evening. |
-- 孟郊
废话
The poem speaks for itself. The legend of the sister-queens has them crying so much that they died but not before their tears gave rise to the spotted bamboo (湘妃竹), staining it as they fell. The poem does show that Meng Jiao was a romantic and idealist. Those are often the qualities that give rise to bitterness later in life. Perhaps the most amazing thing about Bai Juyi was that his eternal, almost naive, idealism never found expression in bitterness and disappointment.