By Bai Juyi
Translated by Tang Yihe
The emperor of Han Dynasty was fond of women and wanted one of unrivalled beauty;
He was looking for such one across the kingdom for years, but vainly.
A girl born into Yang's family had just matured and was brought up deep in chamber unknown to the world.
Well-bred and self-cultivated, she was born of beautiful character;
One day she was chosen to the presence of the emperor.
She turned her sparkling eyes with bewitching smiles;
There was no match for her beauty throughout the palaces of the empire.
The emperor let her bathe in the Hua Qing Pool in the cold spring to wash her tender skin with slippery water of the hot spring.
She was helped by a maid to stand up feebly and gracefully when the emperor began to have affection for her deeply.
With a flowery face and cloudy hair on temples she wore swinging gold ornaments while walking,
And spent the night in the warm bed-curtain with lotus designs in spring.
Spring night was too short for the emperor, who woke up when the sun had rsen high;
Thenceforth the emperor no longer attended the court to receive his ministers in morning time.
She was busy attending emperor's banquets and merry-makings,
And kept him company in nights and in spring outings.
In the palace emperor's favour that should be bestowed on three thousand beautiful maidens was concentrated on one woman.
She was attended on by maid at night, decking out in the golden bower, and got tipsy with love after feasts in the jade tower.
Land was bestowed on her brothers and sisters;
Glorification of her family status was envied by admirers.
This made parents choose to give birth to girls across the kingdom rather than boys.
High up in clouds stood the palace on the Li Hill there;
Fairy music flying in the wind was heard everywhere.
Throughout the day the emperor was insatiable of slow-moving dances and melodious songs to the accompaniment of string and bamboo musical instruments sounds.
The rebellion unleashed by An Lushan in north Hehei shook the whole land,
and songs and melodies in peaceful time were panic-striken.
The heavily protected imperial city turned into dusty messes;
The emperor and his family fled Chang'an escorted by thousands of chariots and horsemen toward the south-west.
Weat of the capital gate one hundred and odd li,
Flapping flags and banners were going and then halting what could be done when soldiers stopped going?
With a rope before his horse, the emperor couldn't help but let the queen be hanged.
Nobody collected the ornaments on queen's head- gold, feather, jadeite and emerald - littered on the ground.
The emperor couldn't rescure the queen
But covered his face with his hand;
Looking back at her blood, he shed tears flowing with her blood mixed.
Yellow dust spread all over everywhere in the wind bleak.
The plank path in clouds
Zigzagged up Jian'ge cliffs.
At the foot of Mount Emei
There were few wayfarers;
In the thin light of the sun flags and banners lacked lustre.
Among Sichuan green moutains and blue rivers,
in melancholy mood mornings and dusks was the emperor.
He felt grieved on his journey when he saw the colour of the moon,
and was heart-broken in the rainy night at hearing bell's ring.
After suppression of the rebellion,
He turned back on his way;
When passing by the place where the queen was hanged,
He hesitated to tear himself away.
Queen's face couldn't be seen in the earth Mawei Slope where she'd died beneath.
The emperor and ministers looked at each other,
their garments being wetted by tears;
Gazing afield at the capital gate,
they returned riding east.
After return to the capital remanined as before the imperial gardens and pond;
So were willows by the Weiyang Palace and lotuses on the Taiye Pond.
Facing lotus flowers like Queen's face and like queen's brows willow leaves,
How could the emperor refrain from shedding tears!
There were days when peach and plum trees in spring breeze were blossoming;
and time when leaves of phoenix trees in autumn rain were falling.
Autumn grasses were thick in the south courtyard of the palace west;
Steps were full of red fallen leaves unswept.
Hairs of disciples in the royal theatre had newly become grey showing they're old;
Eunuchs and maidens in the empress palace had become old.
Fireflies flying in the palace at dusk made the emperor feel sad;
When the lampwick had burnt out, he still couldn't fall asleep.
Sluggish beating of drum and ringing of bell told the long night had just begun;
The bright Milky Way signaled the day hadn't yet dawned.
Mandarin-duck matched tiles were cold, forst heavy;
Who shared in with the emperor halcyon quilt being chilly?
During the long separation between the dead and alive for one year,
Her sould didn't come into his dream.
A Taoist priest from Hongdu gate of the Linqiong County could call back soul with absolute sincerity.
He was moved by emperor's tossing yearning for the queen pitifully,
and was ordered to look for her soul eagerly.
He was running and flying like electricity throughout air space to look for it high up in heavens and down beneath the earth.
Searching the Yellow Springs down below,
and high above the Green Void,
He failed in either place to find the one he looked for.
Suddenly he heard there was a fairy hill at sea,
which was an illusory world one couldn't see.
In the exquisite pavilions amidst coloured clouds,
there were many graceful fairy maids;
Tai Zhen was one of them tall and short with snowy skin and flowery face.
He knocked open the door of the west wing-room of the palace;
A chamber maid was asked to pass on the message (of a visitor coming).
On hearing the coming of a messenger from the Han emperor,
Tai Zhen awoke with a start from her dream in the flowery bed-curtain of hers.
Dressing up and pushing aside her pillow, she got up and paced up and down along the zigzagged pearl-shades and silvery screens lifted and opened.
Cloudy hair-bun half awry, she seemed to have just awaked from a nap, and went down the hall without fixing up her flowery cap.
Her sleeves were flapping in the wind as if she was dancing in neon tune.
Her serene face was stained with tears like a twig of pear blossoms in spring rain.
Eyes staring askance and emotionally, she expressed her gratitude to the emperor;
Since separation they haven't seen and heard each other.
"Our love and affection in the Zhaoyang Palace were completely gone;
Days of my stay in the palace on the Penglai Isle are dragging and long.
When I turned my head back looking down at the terrestrial world,
Chang'an couldn't be seen but a mess of dust and fog.
In token of my deep gratitude, I can only offer some of my old things to the emperor
A golden hair-pin and a box inlaid with mother-of-pearl.
I retain a half of each of them;
each can be combined into a whole.
I only hope our hearts are as hard as the inlaid gold, and we'll meet in the celestial as well as the terrestrial world.
On your departure, I earnestly solicit you to convey my important words to the emperor in sight,
which are a vow for both of us to know and abide by.
In the midnight of the seventh day of the seventh moon when there're in the Long Life Palace no human whispers,
Let's vow together.
Wishing both of us be like two birds flying in heavens side by side,
Or be two branches growing on the earth caressed together on one tree.
The ever-lasting heavens and earth may some day come to an end completely;
But the love of regret will last forever infinitely!"
长恨歌
汉皇重色思倾国，御宇多年求不得。 杨家有女初长成，养在深闺人未识。 天生丽质难自弃，一朝选在君王侧。 回眸一笑百媚生，六宫粉黛无颜色。 春寒赐浴华清池，温泉水滑洗凝脂。 侍儿扶起娇无力，始是新承恩泽时。 云鬓花颜金步摇，芙蓉帐暖度春宵。 春宵苦短日高起，从此君王不早朝。
承欢侍宴无闲暇，春从春游夜专夜。 后宫佳丽三千人，三千宠爱在一身。 金屋妆成娇侍夜，玉楼宴罢醉和春。 姊妹弟兄皆列土，可怜光彩生门户。 遂令天下父母心，不重生男重生女。 骊宫高处入青云，仙乐风飘处处闻。 缓歌慢舞凝丝竹，尽日君王看不足。 渔阳鼙鼓动地来，惊破霓裳羽衣曲。
九重城阙烟尘生，千乘万骑西南行。 翠华摇摇行复止，西出都门百余里。 六军不发无奈何，宛转蛾眉马前死。 花钿委地无人收，翠翘金雀玉搔头。 君王掩面救不得，回看血泪相和流。 黄埃散漫风萧索，云栈萦纡登剑阁。 峨嵋山下少人行，旌旗无光日色薄。 蜀江水碧蜀山青，圣主朝朝暮暮情。
行宫见月伤心色，夜雨闻铃肠断声。 天旋地转回龙驭，到此踌躇不能去。 马嵬坡下泥土中，不见玉颜空死处。 君臣相顾尽沾衣，东望都门信马归。 归来池苑皆依旧，太液芙蓉未央柳。 芙蓉如面柳如眉，对此如何不泪垂。 春风桃李花开日，秋雨梧桐叶落时。 西宫南内多秋草，落叶满阶红不扫。(花开日 一作：花开夜；南内 一作：南苑)
梨园弟子白发新，椒房阿监青娥老。 夕殿萤飞思悄然，孤灯挑尽未成眠。 迟迟钟鼓初长夜，耿耿星河欲曙天。 鸳鸯瓦冷霜华重，翡翠衾寒谁与共。 悠悠生死别经年，魂魄不曾来入梦。 临邛道士鸿都客，能以精诚致魂魄。 为感君王辗转思，遂教方士殷勤觅。 排空驭气奔如电，升天入地求之遍。
上穷碧落下黄泉，两处茫茫皆不见。 忽闻海上有仙山，山在虚无缥渺间。 楼阁玲珑五云起，其中绰约多仙子。 中有一人字太真，雪肤花貌参差是。 金阙西厢叩玉扃，转教小玉报双成。 闻道汉家天子使，九华帐里梦魂惊。 揽衣推枕起徘徊，珠箔银屏迤逦开。 云鬓半偏新睡觉，花冠不整下堂来。
风吹仙袂飘飖举，犹似霓裳羽衣舞。 玉容寂寞泪阑干，梨花一枝春带雨。(阑 通：栏；飘飘 一作：飘飖) 含情凝睇谢君王，一别音容两渺茫。 昭阳殿里恩爱绝，蓬莱宫中日月长。 回头下望人寰处，不见长安见尘雾。 惟将旧物表深情，钿合金钗寄将去。 钗留一股合一扇，钗擘黄金合分钿。 但教心似金钿坚，天上人间会相见。
临别殷勤重寄词，词中有誓两心知。 七月七日长生殿，夜半无人私语时。 在天愿作比翼鸟，在地愿为连理枝。 天长地久有时尽，此恨绵绵无绝期。
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