The moon rises above the willow branches; we meet after dusk
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Sheng Chazi · Yuanxi Dynasty: Song Dynasty Author: Ouyang Xiu (some say Zhu Shuzhen) Original text: Last year on Yuanxi night, the flower market was lit up as if it were day. The moon rises above the willow branches; we’ve arranged to meet after dusk. On this New Year’s Eve, the moon and the lanterns are still there. The person from last year is gone; tears wet my sleeves in this spring. The moon rises above the willow branches; we meet after dusk~I wonder if all first loves are this wonderful~
As one gets older, the past just passes by!
It’s not necessarily that easy to get by. . . . .
Well, one has to deceive oneself and say it happened then :)
In secret, tears still wet the sleeves of my spring robe~
We can never return to those innocent days. . . . . .
Cihai attributes this poem to Zhu Shuzhen. Zhu Shuzhen, a female writer from the Song dynasty. Hao Youxi Jushi was from Qiantang (present-day Hangzhou, Zhejiang). His ancestral home was Shezhou (whose administrative seat is today’s She County in Anhui); he was alive during the early Southern Song Dynasty. Born into an official family, she is said to have died of depression due to unhappiness in her marriage. Can draw, understands music theory. The words are full of melancholy, tending toward sentimentality. Can also write poetry. There are a poetry collection titled \"Duan Chang Ji\" and a ci-poem collection titled \"Duan Chang Ci\". There is a annotated version of 《Duan Chang Ji》 by Zheng Yuanzuo of the Song dynasty.
If there’s dissatisfaction with the marriage, it’s probably because they can’t forget that period in their past~
No wonder it reads so gracefully.
This is possible; life would be too incomplete without it~