Li Shangyin courtesy name Yishan (Chinese: 義山), was a Chinese poet and politician of the late Tang dynasty

 

正月崇让宅

密锁重关掩绿苔,

廊深阁迥此徘徊。

先知风起月含晕,

尚自露寒花未开。

蝙拂帘旌[1]终展转,

鼠翻窗网小惊猜。

背灯独共馀香语,

不觉犹歌起夜来[2]。

这是诗人悼念亡妻之作,崇让宅是诗人的岳父、径原节度使王茂元在东都洛阳崇让坊的宅邸,诗人和妻子曾在此居住。此次归来,昔人已不在,重门紧缩,庭院深深,只剩一片凄凉。全诗从白天到夜晚,由门外到宅内,通过这样的描写,衬托出诗人悼念妻子的悲痛心情和复杂的内心活动,不觉让人悲从中来。

注释:

[1]帘旌:帘箔,布门帘,因形似旌旗,故称。

[2]《起夜来》:乐府曲调名,《乐府解题》中说:“《起夜来》,其辞意犹念畴昔思君之来也。”是妻子思念丈夫之辞。

Our Old Abode-Elegy on My Deceased Wife

Doors locked,curtain drawn down,mossy is our ground,

On winding corridor alone I would stroll around.

By lunar halo the rising wind is foretold.

How can the flowers bloom when drenched in dew cold?

I toss in bed when curtain’s hit by a bat;

I am surprised to hear in the net squeak a rat.

Alone I talk with your shadow by the lamplight.

How can I help singing with you“Rising at Night”?

Note:The poet describes his dreary old abode after his wife’s death.