孟郊诗

Poems of Meng Jiao


Index

和蔷薇花歌

Singing with Rose Blossom


仙机札札织凤凰
花开七十有二行
天霞落地攒红光

Immortal chance to write down a phoenix's words.
This flower blooming at seventy, twice a master.
Heaven's glory comes to earth in gathering rosy light.

风枝袅袅时一飏
飞散葩馥绕空王
忽惊锦浪洗新色

Wind gently stirs the branches as she soars,
Her wand'ring flight fragrant 'round the Buddha.
Suddenly brocade waves are washed in new colors.

又似宫娃逞妆饰
终当一使移花根
还比蒲桃天上植

She's like a palace beauty, showing off her jewels.
In the end, this slender flower moves us all.
She most resembles a vineyard tended in Heaven.

-- 孟郊


废话

Here is a very probable context. Meng Jiao and several other gentlemen are spending an evening with a professional flower girl. They probably pooled their money for this one as she is seventy years old and an acknowledged master of both song and pipa (or qin or se). None of this surprises me. What does surprise me is that the singing is mentioned in the same breath with the Buddha, Lord of Emptiness (空王). It is entirely possible that these gentlemen have spent the evening listening to a master sing sutras. That might explain the unusual structure of nine seven-character lines. And let's not forget, the title explicitly tells us that, in part, they all sang together.


Index