[updated October 2022]
Moon
月
三 十 六 宫 秋 夜 深
昭 阳 歌 断 信 沉 沉。
唯 应 独 伴 陈 皇 后
照 见 长 门 望 辛 心。
Yue
San shi liu gong qiu ye shen
Zhao yang ge duan xin chen chen.
Wei ying du ban chen huang hou.
Zhao jian chang men wang xin xin.
Moon
Deep autumn evenings for the many palace bedrooms
Rooms for the empress silent and without any word from the emperor.
Alone without any people around her
She longs for the moonlight to recapture her emperor again.
Notes:
[The historical and literary allusions in this poem are thick. In the last line the words Changmen refers to a story about Empress Chen, also referring to the title of a poem written by Sima Xiangru for her.]
Empress Chen Jiao: (ca. 166-110 BC) and (r. 141-130 BC) Famous for being the spouse of Emperor Wu during the Western Han Dynasty.
Sima Xiangru (ca. 179-117 BC): Famous for writing a poem that Chen Jiao could use to lure her husband and emperor back into her arms.
Fu: A literary form using descriptive prose interspersed with verse that was very popular during the Han Dynasty.