Tune: “Rouged Lips” Rain Just Over on the Night of the Lantern Preview
Wu Wen-ying (c. 1200–c. 1260)
Dark clouds have rolled clean away.
Goddess of the Moon looks down after her evening toilet,
Laying the dust and moistening the ground
That Fairy Maidens tread.
Back again in the bustling thoroughfare,
I feel myself reliving
Scenes of jolly lantern shows of other days.
With nostalgic feelings tender as water,
What can I do but retrace my steps to the small chamber,
Where under heated quilts
I’m soon lost in spring dreams,
Still haunted by the din of music and song.
Translated by Jiaosheng Wang
Only scanty biographical information is available about the poet. Wu Wen-ying lived during the period when the Southern Sung was about to collapse before the Mongols. Oddly, most of his works seem to deal with his own concerns, especially his affection for two favorite concubines. A different reading of his subtly stated works, however, reveals a concern for his country and his people. After Hsin Ch’i-chi (see selection 102), Wu was the second most prolific Sung period author of lyrics with approximately 350 known pieces to his credit.