Timeless classic poems born from a divorce decree

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On the pink walls of Shen Yuan, two poems titled \"Chai Tou Feng\" were once inscribed; they have inspired countless scholars and writers over the past 850 years to linger there, filled with deep emotion. It was Lu You, filled with resentment, sorrow, regret, and despair; it was Lu You who loved Tang Wan deeply and longed for her ardently. It was Tang Wan, whose soul was constantly tormented as if bound by eternal chains due to the suffering she endured; it was Tang Wan who held a steadfast and unwavering love for Lu You. Lu You and Tang Wan – one a talented young man, the other a beautiful and virtuous lady from a noble family. What kind of poignant and moving, tear-jerking story exists between these two people of equal talent and beauty? 　　Lu You was a famous patriotic poet from the Southern Song Dynasty. He was born into a wealthy and scholarly family in Shanyang, Yuezhou. During his childhood, when the Jurchens invaded from the north, he often fled around with his family. His maternal uncle Tang Cheng’s family had close ties with the Lu family. In the Tang family, there was a daughter named Tang Wan, with the courtesy name Huixian. From a young age, she was gentle and delicate; she wasn’t good at speaking but was very understanding. They shared a deep affection for Lu You and had known each other since childhood. Amidst the chaos of war, the two inexperienced youths still spent some pure and wonderful time together. As they grew older, a tender feeling gradually took root in both of their hearts. 　　Lu You and Tang Wan, in their youthful years, were both skilled in poetry; they often used poetry to express their inner feelings. Amidst the flowers and under the moonlight, they composed poems and recited verses to each other, standing side by side like a pair of butterflies dancing among the blossoms, their expressions filled with happiness and harmony. The parents of both families, along with their relatives and friends, all believed that they were meant for each other. As a token of this union, the Lu family gave a beautifully crafted family heirloom hairpin as a pledge to seal this marriage alliance. Upon reaching adulthood, after a wedding night together, Tang Wan became the wife of the Lu family. From then on, Lu You and Tang Wan lived in perfect harmony and deep love, immersed in their own world together, unaware of the passage of time; they set aside all concerns such as imperial examinations, fame and wealth, and even their family members. By this time, Lu You had already been appointed as a Shilang through preferential appointment; this was just the first step in his career as an official. He would next have to go to Lin’an to take the \"Suo Ting Shi\" examination as well as the examinations organized by the Ministry of Rites. Newlywed Lu You indulged in the pleasures of conjugal life, having no time at all to attend to his exam studies. Lu’s mother, Tang Shi, was a stern and domineering woman who earnestly hoped that Lu You would pass the imperial examinations and become an official, so as to bring honor to their family. Witnessing the current situation, she was extremely dissatisfied; on several occasions, in her capacity as an aunt and even more so as a mother-in-law, she reprimanded Tang Wan harshly, ordering her to prioritize her husband’s prospects in the imperial examinations over familial affections. But Lu and Tang were deeply in love with each other, with no way back, and the situation never improved. As a result, Lu’s mother developed a strong aversion toward her daughter-in-law, believing that Tang Wan was ruining her son’s future. She went to the Wuliang Nunnery in the suburbs and asked the nuns there to predict the fate of her son and daughter-in-law. After performing some calculations, the nun Miao Yin said seriously, “Tang Wan and Lu You have incompatible birth dates; by deceiving her at first, her life will ultimately be in danger.” ”Upon hearing this, Lu’s mother was terrified; she rushed home at once, called Lu You over, and ordered him sternly, \"Quickly write a divorce letter and divorce Tang Wan – otherwise, I will die along with her.\" ”Undoubtedly, this was like thunder striking on a sunny day, leaving Lu You completely at a loss. After Lu’s mother had listed all of Tang Wan’s faults, Lu You felt as though his heart was being torn apart by knives. Being naturally filial, he had no choice but to silently shed tears in the face of his unyielding mother. 　　Under his mother’s insistence, Lu You agreed to send Tang Wan back to her family’s home. In ancient Chinese society, where filial piety was highly valued, a mother’s commands were akin to imperial edicts; sons had no choice but to obey them. Just as Jiao Zhongqing in “The Peacock Flies Southeast” had no choice but to heed his mother’s orders and divorce Liu Lanzhi. Such a pair of lovers deeply in love are on the verge of being torn apart by unfounded filial duty, worldly ambitions, and the arbitrary dictates of fate. Lu You and Tang Wan were unable to part from each other; they couldn’t bear to be separated. Since they had no chance to be together, Lu You secretly built another house, so that he could go there whenever he had the opportunity to resume their romantic relationship and be together as before. Yet, secrets cannot remain hidden forever; the shrewd Mother Lu quickly noticed what was going on. She ordered the two of them to stop communicating with each other and arranged for Lu You to marry a gentle and obedient woman from the Wang family, thereby completely severing the tender feelings between Lu You and Tang. Lu You had no choice but to put aside his grievances. Under his mother’s urging, he resumed his studies in the sciences and devoted himself to hard study for three years. Then he left his hometown of Shanyin on his own to go to Lin’an to take the imperial examinations. Lu You won the appreciation of the examiner Lu Fu thanks to his solid knowledge of classical studies and his brilliant literary talent, and was recommended as the top scorer. The one who came in second place in the same examination was Qin Xun, the grandson of the then prime minister Qin Hui. Feeling deeply humiliated, Qin Hui took advantage of the imperial examinations held by the Ministry of Rites in the spring of the following year to remove Lu You’s examination paper under some pretext, thus setting Lu You’s career on a difficult path from the very beginning. 　　Having failed the imperial examinations organized by the Ministry of Rites, Lu You returned to his hometown; the scenery remained the same, but the people there had changed. Seeing these objects brings back memories of that person; it’s incredibly melancholic. To relieve his sorrow, Lu You would often wander alone among the green mountains and waters, or sit in remote temples to explore their history and beauty ； Or go to taverns to drink wine and compose poems ； Or wander the streets, singing loudly and crying, leading a carefree and unrestrained life. On a spring day filled with blooming flowers, Lu You strolled to the Shen Garden at Yuji Temple. On a secluded path deep in the garden, a woman dressed in fine clothes came walking toward him. Lu You, who was walking with his head lowered, suddenly looked up and saw that it was his ex-wife Tang Wan, whom he had not seen for many years. In that moment, time and gaze both froze; both of them felt confused and uncertain, unsure whether it was a dream or reality, with their eyes filled with emotions that could be love, resentment, longing, or compassion. By this time, Tang Wan had been married at her family’s insistence to Zhao Shicheng, a scholar from the same region. He was a descendant of the royal family and came from a distinguished family. Zhao Shicheng was a kind and generous scholar who showed sincere sympathy and understanding toward Tang Wan, who had suffered emotional setbacks; as a result, Tang Wan’s wounded heart gradually settled down, and new feelings began to emerge in her heart. The unexpected encounter with Lu You undoubtedly reopened Tang Wan’s closed heart; the long-suppressed tenderness and all her grievances burst forth at once, and the fragile Tang Wan could hardly bear such feelings. And Lu You, although he had tried to suppress his longing for Tang Wan over the years through hard study and indulgence in poetry and wine, at this moment, the old feelings deep in his heart could not help but surface. Our eyes met; there were a thousand thoughts and emotions in our hearts, yet we didn’t know where to start. This time, Tang Wan visited Shen Yuan together with her husband Zhao Shicheng, who was waiting there for her to eat. After a moment of daze, Tang Wan finally lifted her heavy steps and, after casting a last lingering glance, walked away, leaving Lu You standing there in the flowers, lost in thought. A gentle breeze blew, awakening Lu You from his reverie of past dreams. Instinctively, he followed the figure of Tang Wan and came to a grove of willows by the pond, where he saw from afar that Tang Wan and Zhao Shicheng were dining on a pavilion over the water. Vaguely, one could see Tang Wan lowering her head and frowning; unconsciously, she extended her delicate hands with red sleeves to drink slowly alongside Zhao Shicheng. This familiar scene broke Lu You’s heart. Yesterday’s love dreams, today’s sorrowful thoughts fill my heart; filled with countless emotions, I picked up a pen and wrote a poem of the type \"Chai Tou Feng\" on the pink wall: Red, soft hands; yellow wine; the whole city bathed in spring colors, with willows by the palace walls ； The east wind is harsh, joy is scarce; filled with sorrow, years of separation – wrong, wrong, wrong. 　　Spring remains the same; only I have grown thin. Tears stain my silk handkerchief red ； Peach blossoms fall; the idle pond and pavilion remain. Though our vows endure, it’s impossible to send letters. No, no, no. Later, Qin Hui died of illness. The dynasty recalled Lu You to serve as the clerk in Ningde County, forcing him to leave his hometown of Shanyin. The following spring, driven by an inexplicable longing, Tang Wan returned to Shen Yuan once again, wandering among the winding paths and corridors, when she suddenly spotted Lu You’s inscription. Reciting it over and over again, recalling the times when the two of them exchanged poems, I couldn’t help but shed tears; my emotions were stirred, and before I knew it, I composed a poem myself which I attached at the end of Lu You’s poem: The world is heartless, human nature is cruel; in the rain at dusk, flowers fall easily ； The evening breeze dries the tears; traces of sorrow remain. I wish to convey my thoughts, but standing alone by the slanted railing, it’s hard, so hard. People go their separate ways; today is not as it was yesterday. My troubled soul is always like the ropes of a swing ； The wind howls in the cold, the night is deep; afraid of being questioned, I swallow my tears and pretend to be happy—hide it, hide it, hide it. 　　Tang Wan was a woman who valued affection deeply; her love for Lu You was originally a perfect union, but it was ruined by the trials of the world. Although Zhao Shicheng offered her emotional comfort once again, after all, past experiences are hard to surpass. That deeply engraved love affair with Lu You remained at the deepest depths of her emotional world. Ever since she saw Lu You’s inscription, her heart has been unable to find peace again. Recalling the bygone days like flowing water and lamenting the helplessness of life, the flames of emotion tormented her, causing her to grow increasingly frail and depressed; in the bleak autumn season, she turned into a fallen leaf and quietly drifted away with the wind. Only the passionate poem \"Chai Tou Feng\" remains, prompting later generations to sigh with regret. 　　 At this time, Lu You was at the peak of his career. His literary talent was highly appreciated by the newly enthroned Emperor Xiaozong of Song, who granted him the status of a Jinshi. His career progressed smoothly from then on, and he eventually reached the position of attendant at Baohua Pavilion. During this period, in addition to dedicating himself wholeheartedly to governance, he also wrote numerous poems expressing his concerns for the country and its people. By the age of seventy-five, he submitted a request to retire and return to his hometown. Lu You wandered far and wide for decades, hoping to forget the tragic memories associated with Tang Wan. Yet, the farther he traveled from home, the more Tang Wan’s image lingered in his mind. Upon his weary return from this journey, Tang Wan had long since passed away, and he himself was now in his old age. Yet, he still harbored deep affection for the past events and for Shen Garden. Often walking alone along the secluded paths of Shen Yuan, recalling that fleeting glimpse that remained deeply etched in his mind, he wrote the poem \"Reminiscences of Shen Yuan\":
First stanza: Forty years have passed since that dream and that fragrance vanished; the willows in Shen Yuan are old, no longer shedding their catkins ； This body turns to dust of Jishan; still, I mourn its remnants with deep sorrow. 　　 Second: 　　　　　　 　 The setting sun over the city brings mournful sounds from the horns; in Shen Yuan, the old ponds and pavilions no longer exist ； Beneath the sad bridge, the spring waters are green; it seems as though a graceful swan is reflecting its image there. 　　Shen Yuan is the place where Lu You felt nostalgic, as well as the place that filled him with sorrow. He thought of Shen Yuan, yet was afraid to go there. When spring returns, with its enticing shades of pink and green, as well as the annoying sounds of birds and scents of flowers, Lu You, who was in his later years, could no longer go to Shen Garden to revisit the memories of the past. Yet, his encounter with Tang Wan—her sorrowful gaze, her timid demeanor, her helpless steps, and her hesitation in speaking—remained firmly etched in Lu You’s memory. Thus, he composed another poem titled “A Dream Visit to Shen Garden”:
First one:
The road near the south of the city is already daunting to walk along; entering Shen Garden only deepens my sorrow ； The fragrance lingers in the sleeves as plum blossoms appear; greenery spreads across the temple bridge as spring waters rise. 　　 Second: In the southern part of the city, spring has returned once again; only plum blossoms can be seen, with no people in sight ； The jade bones have long lain buried in the soil beneath the springs, while the traces of ink remain trapped in the dust on the walls. 　　 Since then, Shen Yuan has changed hands several times; now its walls are covered in dust, and all that remains are vague memories of forgotten dreams. One spring day in the 85th year of Lu You’s life, he suddenly felt extremely refreshed and light-hearted. I had originally planned to go up the mountain to gather herbs, but due to lack of strength, I changed my plans and headed to Shen Yuan instead. At this time, Shen Yuan was once again tidied up, and its scenery returned to its former state. Lu You wrote his final love poem dedicated to Shen Yuan with deep affection: 　　　　　　 In Shen Yuan’s garden, the flowers are as beautiful as brocades; half of them remind me of the poet from those days ； I also believe that beauties will ultimately turn to dust; it’s unbearable for such sweet dreams to end so hastily. 　　 Not long after, Lu You passed away suddenly. Times have changed; the scenery of Shen Yuan is no longer what it used to be, and there are no traces of the poems on the pink walls anymore. Yet these poems that record the tragic love story between Tang Wan and Lu You have continued to be passed down among lovers throughout the ages.