幾多愁 【虞美人】 鄧麗君
Recite the poem
Sing the poem with guitar
[audio:http://www.chinesetolearn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Poem1.mp3|titles=Poem]
虞美人
Yu mei ren
To the tune of beauty Yu
李煜
Li Yu
春花秋月何時了，
chun1 hua1 qiu1 yue4 he2 shi2 liao3,
Spring flowers, autumn moon when will they cease existing? (note 1)
往事知多少。
wang3 shi4 zhi1 duo1 shao3.
How many past events am I aware of?
小樓昨夜又東風，故國不堪回首月明中。
xiao3 lou2 zuo2 ye4 you4 dong1 feng1, gu4 guo2 bu4 kan1 hui2 shou3 yue4 ming2 zhong1.
Last night, the eastern wind again blew over the little tower. It was unbearable to turn my head to look at the old country in the bright moon light.
雕闌玉砌應猶在，
diao1 lan2 yu4 qi4 ying1 you2 zai4,
Carved railing and jade layered stairs should still remain, (note 2)
只是朱顏改。
zhi3 shi4 zhu1 yan2 gai3.
Only the youth countenance changed.(note 3)
問君能有幾多愁，
wen4 jun1 neng2 you3 ji3 duo1 chou2.
Should you ask how much worry I can bear?
恰似一江春水向東流。
qia4 shi4 yi4 jiang1 chun1 shui3 xiang4 dong1 liu2.
Just like the spring water of Yang Tze River flows to the east.
Note 1. 春花秋月, chun1 hua1 qiu1 yue4, literally means spring flowers and autumn moon; it is used to refer to beautiful sceneries and delightful times. Liao3 了, verb, means to finish, to end.
Note 2. 砌 qi4 means stairs. 雕闌玉砌，diao1 lan2 yu4 qi4.
Carved railing and jade layered stairs refers to the old palace of the Southern Tang Dynasty 南唐 in Jinling 金陵.
Note 3. 朱顏改 zhu1 yan2 gai3, the youth countenance changed. Zhu1 yan2 朱顏 means 红颜，refers to the young girls or palace maids of his old country.
Note 4. Jun1 君 refers to Li Yu himself.
Poem analysis:
“To the tune of beauty Yu” was written after Li Yu was dethroned and imprisoned. The full poem expressed the nostalgia of his past life as the emperor, and his uncontrolled sorrow of reminiscing the past.
Spring flowers and the autumn moon are among the most beautiful scenes we see in nature. When we greet a new season, we often recall those best memories which are associated with the past meaningful and beautiful moments in certain unforgettable scenery. As a former emperor, Li Yu’s sublime years were related to the golden palace period. However, when he was writing this poem, the past, prosperous and grand chapter, was torn from his unbearable life book. Under the full moon illuminating light, when the gentle eastern wind blew to the tower where he was caged in, Li Yu’s mind roamed to his old kingdom. Those carved railing and jade layered stairs still remained； however, the familiar faces were gone without a trace. He could not help but wished those beautiful scenes in nature could cease existing, so that he could get away from those beautiful yet cruel reminders of his past and the sorrow they brought. As for the mourning and misery, they were so tormenting and rushing like the whole Yang Tze River fiercely rolling out to the East Sea, so unbearable, so heart wrenching, and so very bitter. .. It was said that this arty minded poetic emperor died shortly after he wrote this poem.
Translated by Shu
Poet background information:
Li Houzhu ( 李後主 Li Hou4 zhu3; literally “The Latter Lord Li”) (937–978), also known as Houzhu of Southern Tang (南唐後主, literally “the latter lord of Southern Tang”), personal name Li3 Yu4 (李煜), né Li Cong2 jia1 (李從嘉), courtesy name Chong2 guang1 (重光), posthumously known as Prince of Wu (吳王), was the last ruler of the Southern Tang Kingdom from 961 to 975 during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. He was also a well-known poet, even to the extent of having been called the “first true master” of the ci form. As a poet, he is generally known by his family name and his given personal name, that is as “Li Yu.”
Li Houzhu devoted much of his time to pleasure-making and literature, and this content is reflected in his early poems. Li’s ci poems developed a sadder style after the death of his wife, in 964. However, his best-known, saddest poems were written during the years after the Song ended his reign in 975. He was assigned the title of the Marquess of Wei Ming (違命侯; literally, the Marquess of Disobeyed Edicts), a token title only: in reality, he was a caged prisoner. Li’s works of this period mainly are about his regret for the lost kingdom and the pleasures he indulged that had brought him to this miserable stage of life.
He broadened the ci content scope from love to history and philosophy, particularly in his later works. He also introduced the two stanza form, and made great use of contrasts between longer lines of nine characters and shorter ones of three and five. Only 45 of his ci poems survive, thirty of which have been verified to be his authentic works.
He was poisoned by the Song emperor Taizong in 978, after he had written this poem and the other one, which lamented the destruction of his empire. After his death, he was posthumously created the Prince of Wu (吳王).
Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Houzhu
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