春光好·看看腊尽春回
原作：李清照 / 无名氏（存疑）
英译：闵晓红
看看腊尽春回。
消息到、江南早梅。
昨夜前村深雪里，
一朵花开。
盈盈玉蕊如裁。
更风细、清香暗来。
空使行人肠欲断，
驻马徘徊。
The messenger of Spring just ended December
- to the tune of “The Splendid Spring’
written by: Li Qingzhao / Anonymous
English translation: Julia Min
The messenger of Spring just ended December，
plum trees already touched with budding pairs.
In the village ahead covered in snow last night,
one plum flower flutters awake her dreamy eyes.
Her stamen tipped yellow, a design of Nature,
a subtle scent in the gentle wind roaming near.
A traveller on horse stops by and sighs in tears;
Must be the yearnings for his love left last year.
Appreciation:
This poem is listed under Li Qingzhao in some versions but others have it under ‘Anonymous’
Notes:
1. ‘December’: the last month of winter in the Chinese calendar which is a record of seasonal changes in the natural world, different from the Western calendar based on religious record. So Chinese New Year is also called the Spring Festival celebrating for 15 days till the first full moon which always appears on the 15th day of the month on the Chinese calendar.
2. ‘plumtrees’: represents many noble qualities in Chinese culture. Here it implies the pure and unyielding love between lovers.
3. ‘loving pairs’: the Chinese plumtrees bud in pairs, thus often used to imply lovers.
Reference:
1. 李清照文集 作者：（北宋）李清照著，刘振鹏https://books.google.com.au/2 《李清照集笺注》李清照撰，徐培均笺注； 2002年上海古籍出版社
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