Poem for the Willows by the River
The calm blue sky and its reflection
frame the barren riverbanks
huge shapes of misty cloud
merge into distant mansions
upside-down, many images
spread on the autumn waters
flowers drop from time to time
onto the head of the fisherman
old roots mark the dens
where many fish are hiding
hanging branches offer mooring
to the boats of travellers
the night tosses and sighs
all filled with wind and rain
and dreaming astonishing dreams
only enlarges my gloom.
(trans. David Young and Jiann I. Lin)
Yu Xuanji: her name means 'dark secret fish'; the translators say that this 'is unusual'. People don't know much about her: it is conjectured that in her time, Yu was consecutively a concubine, a nun and a courtesan. She was executed in 871 for beating a servant to death.
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