For the Courtesan Qing Lin – Wu Zao
Posted on August 4, 2022 by gracemoonzao

Poem text: 

Your collarbones gleam like coral. 
You are a celestial lover descended from the Jade City, it seems. 
When we met – 
one smile, and I forgot how to speak. 

Tenderly you picked flowers, rested against bamboo stalks, 
and the dew grew cool upon your emerald sleeves. 
Inside that hollow valley, 
I came face to face 
with your internal mystery. 

While the orchid lantern flickered low, 
we drank wine, 
read poetry. 
Then you sang me a heartbreaking tune 
of yearning in Jiangnan. 

You are a specimen of artistry – feminine and intellectual. 
I’m driven crazy, 
yes I want to bear this, 
if my jade lady’s heart consents. 

Just now misty springtime fog rises over Five Lakes. 
I’ll buy a red boat, I’ll carry you away. 

-- Wu Zao, Qing Dynasty. 

Translation: Grace Zhang. 

 

Chinese: 

《洞仙歌·珊珊琐骨》吴藻 [清]

珊珊锁骨，似碧城仙侣。一笑相逢淡忘语。
镇拈花倚竹，翠袖生寒，空谷里、相见个侬幽绪。
兰釭低照影，赌酒评诗，便唱江南断肠句。
一样扫眉才，偏我清狂，要消受, 玉人心许。
正漠漠、烟波五湖春，待买个红船，载卿同去。

 

Translation notes:

  • In the first line, "珊珊" has multiple possible translations.
    • (1) It refers to the tinkling sound made by jade pendants (for example, worn on a necklace, and perhaps against the collarbones). 
    • (2) It serves as a general descriptor of feminine elegance. 
    • (3) It literally is the character for coral, repeated twice. I have chosen to retain the sense of coral, partly because of the pleasant congruence between "coral" and "collar" in English. 

  • The Jade City, in traditional Chinese myth, is a representation of heaven. It is populated by many deities and immortal beings, and ruled over by the Jade Emperor.

  • The beginning lines echo several images from a famous Tang Dynasty poem, Jia Ren (Beautiful Woman), by Du Fu. It expresses male longing for a woman and also includes references to a hollow valley, cold emerald sleeves, picking flowers, and resting against bamboo. This imagery has been thought of as a subversive choice on Wu Zao's part, with notes of gender bending. 

  • Jiangnan literally means "South of the river," and refers geographically to the region in China south of the Yangtze River. This is where Wu Zao was born. The song which Qing-Lin sings may be 忆江南 (Remembering Jiangnan) by Bai Juyi.

  • The phrase "扫眉才" has 3 translations:
    • 1. It literally means "eyebrow painting talent." Some other translations have interpreted this to mean that Wu Zao and the courtesan, while hanging out together, were literally painting each others' eyebrows. 
    • 2. It's short for "扫眉才子," an idiom with which Wu Zao would have been familiar. The idiom itself has two different possible meanings. The oldest meaning is a euphemism for feminine arts. Meaning, a woman's erotic talents in the bedroom. 
    • 3. The second meaning of the idiom "扫眉才子" is a woman's literary and intellectual talent. Why? There is a Tang Dynasty poem《寄蜀中薛涛校书》by Wang Jian, which expresses a glowing appreciation of a woman, describing her as an "eyebrow painting talent." This woman was both a courtesan and a highly gifted poet herself. Since then, the idiom has taken on its second meaning about a woman's literary talent. 

      I felt it important to keep the double idiomatic meanings in my translation. Note that Wu Zao is also writing to a courtesan, just like Wang Jian! And we know from context that Qing Lin is not only super sexy, but also into poetry. And can sing! She is surely an "eyebrow painting talent," in both the erotic and intellectual senses. 

  • "Five Lakes" has been used to describe many sets of lakes in China; however, one of the most common references is to the Lake Tai or Taihu area. For instance, in the ancient Chinese text Guoyu, the king of Yue secretly hides away at Taihu after his defeat. As a result, the term Five Lakes carries a connotation of secrecy and remoteness -- a place secluded from the rest of the world. A perfect destination for stealing a lover away. 

Special thanks to R.K. Christenson for insightful comments and suggestions regarding the translation!

 

Other English translations: