In some Tang Dynasty poetry collections, the poem has another title: To Zi’an. Possibly an alternative title, which in itself speaks of her attachment to him, even in the days after he broke up with her. In the poem, Song Yu was a famous poet also known for his handsome appearance during the spring and autumn time period, and Wang Chang was another legendary good-looking but cold-hearted man in the Tang Dynasty. In classic Chinese poetry, allusion or intertextuality is frequently employed.

Letter to a Friend: Thoughts in the Late Spring

Yu Xuanji (844–871)

Startled out of the lingering dream

by the oriole’s chirping, I touch

my tearful face with a light

make-up. A thin moon silhouetted

against the shady bamboo groves,

along the tranquil riverside,

the evening mist rising thick,

the swallows pecking wet soil

to build their nest, and bees flitting

among flowers for honey – alone,

I’m weighed down with all the worries,

with my self-murmuring

weighing down the pine branches.

The Flute Sobbing

(To the Tune of Yiqin’e)

Yu Xuanji (844–871)

The flute sobbing,

waking from her dream,

she sees the moon shining,

above the high tower. The moon

shining above the high tower,

the willows turn green again, year

after year, along Baling Bridge,

where lovers sadly part.

On the Cold Autumn Day

in Yueyou plateau,

no dust of a messenger rides

along the ancient path.

No dust of a messenger,

in the west wind, the sun set

against the Han royal mausoleum.

The authorship of the poem remains controversial. Some critics attribute it to Li Bai, but in terms of its style, others credit it to Xuanji.

The Fading Peony

Yu Xuanji (844–871)

So many blossoms falling,

falling in the wind, I am sighing,

with the fragrance fading,

failing in the disappearance

of yet another spring.

The peony proves to be too expensive

for the close-fisted customers,

and its sweet scent, too strong

to the flirting butterflies.

The royal palace alone deserves

such a blaze of red petals.

How can the green foliage

endure the dust and dirt

by the roadside?

Only with its transplantation

into the grand imperial garden

will those young dandies

come to regret.

Regarding the absurd political symbolism of the peony in the Tang Empire, particularly under the reign of Empress Wu, see the discussion in the section when Judge Dee first reads the poem.

Reply to Li Ying’s Letter about Angling

Yu Xuanji (844–871)

The boundless fragrance of the lotus flower

is sweet-scenting my summer dress –

but where are you, my lord?

When are you coming back,

paddling the sampan?

What a shame we are not

even comparable to a pair

of mandarin ducks swimming, splashing,

caring, cherishing, caressing

each other around the jutting rock

on which you sit angling.