Amidst the cloud-mantled peaks

the azure spring sky emerges,

greeting the eyes around;

all the bold, vigorous strokes

of the characters written

on the post appear as clear-cut

as silver hooks. The satin dress I wear,

alas, eclipses the shining poems

I write. Gazing up

at the long, long list

of the successful candidates, I envy,

envy them, in vain.

In ancient China, for the men of letters aspiring to success, an official career, and higher social status, the path was through the civil service examination, of which poetry-writing was an integrated part. The successful candidates were awarded government positions in accordance with their scores in the examination. The poem titles in classic Chinese poetry could be long, and this poem helps to explain why Xuanji felt so bitter about gender prejudice in the Tang Dynasty. A woman like Xuanji – in fact, all women – was barred from partaking in the civil service examination, however talented she might have been as a poetess. So she wrote the poem on the occasion of looking up at the list of new successful candidates, and she could not help feeling frustrated as an ambitious female intellectual in the Tang Dynasty.

Boudoir Sorrow

Yu Xuanji (844–871)

A full grasp of weeds, I’m weeping

against the declining light,

only to hear a neighbor’s husband

returning home. Alas, the day you left,

wild geese were flying north

in the spring, and today, they are

flying south in the autumn.

Through the spring, through

the autumn, I keep missing you;

through the autumn, through

the spring, there is no message

coming to me. The windows

and doors shut, you are not here.

The noise of a wife beating,

washing her man’s clothes

in the stream –

Oh, why should the sound

come through to me,

piercing the silk curtain?

The Islet Enclosed in White Duckweed

Wen Tingyun (812–870)

After applying her make-up,

she stands leaning against the balcony,

looking out to the river, alone,

to thousands of sails passing along –

none is the one she waits for.

The sun setting slant,

the water running silent, long,

her heart is breaking

at the sight of the islet enclosed

in white duckweed.

Wen Tingyun was a celebrated Tang Dynasty poet. His most successful poems are a group of love poems speaking from a female perspective. It is believed that some of his poems originated from his romantic relationship with Xuanji, imagining what she could be thinking at the moment.

Lament of the Inlaid Lute

Wen Tingyun (812–870)

Still, no dream comes to her,

the split-bamboo-made mat cool

on the silver-inlaid bed.

The deep blue skies appear like water,

the night clouds insubstantial.

The cries of the wild geese journey

as far as the Xiaoxiang River.

The moon continues shining

into her room.

A Green-Shaded Window

(To the Tune of Pusaman)

Wen Tingyun (812–870)

The bright moon, the jade tower –

the long memories …

The willow shoots swing so softly

in the languid spring breeze.

The weeds grown high beyond our gate