Translation by Elisa English
All rights reserved
〈絕客詩〉豫章婦
<Rebuff > Yuzhang Madam
失翅青鸞似困雞偶隨孤鶴到江西
春風桃李空嗟怨秋水芙蓉強護堤
仙子自居蓬島境漁郎休想武陵溪
金鈴掛在花枝上不許流鶯聲亂啼
A phoenix, wings clipped, like a pheasant, trapped,
To Jiangxi, haply followed a lone crane.
The beauty, blooming solo, sighs in vain.
Hard she tries for chastity to be kept.
In fairyland, alone dwells the nymph.
Fishers! Delude not to advance o’er stream!
Golden bells hung on trees! Trespassers halt!
Hush! Hush! Chirp not to disturb all her peace
Note:
豫章 (Yuzhang) – a county located in Jiangxi
This poem is about a lady married to someone in Jiangxi. While her husband is out on business trips, others were trying to seduce her. She wrote a poem to refuse their advances. The first half of the poem talks about her living alone, trying to keep her chastity and the second half about her explicit rejection of unwanted advances.
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