Li Shangyin 李商隱 Lǐ Shāngyǐn (812-858) is the love poet par excellence in the Chinese tradition. His poems, particularly his ‘Untitled Poems’, set a trend for later Chinese love poetry.

 

天涯

春日在天涯[1],

天涯日又斜。

莺啼如有泪,

为湿最高花[2]。

春天到了,但诗人并没有感到春机盎然和充满希望的美景,只觉得春日遥远,表现了诗人孤寂和悲愁的心境。

注释:

[1]天涯:此处泛指家乡以外的极远之地。

[2]最高花:树梢顶上的花。

The End of the Sky

Spring is far,far away

Where the sun slants its ray.

If orioles have tear,

Wet highest flowers here!

Note:This quatrain may be said to be an elegy of spring,of the poet’s life and of his era.The place is far away and the time is late,even a happy bird would be saddened to shed tears on beautiful flowers.