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.

 

日日

日日春光斗日光,

山城斜路杏花香。

几时心绪浑无事,

得及游丝[1]百尺长。

这是一首描绘春天的诗,自然之景与诗人的心绪似乎有着千丝万缕的关系。

注释:

[1]游丝:指春天时虫类吐在空中而四处飞扬的细丝。

From Day to Day

From day to day in splendor spring with sunlight vies,

The sloping hillside way sweet with apricot bloom.

When could my heart-string be as free from worldly ties

As the hundred-foot-long gossamer in the gloom?

Note:The poet asks why men and things should vie in splendor and flagrance,and whether it is worthwhile or not to be flee as the gossamer.