Fan Chung-yen (989–1052)
Blue cloud sky
Yellow leaf ground
Autumnal waves
Under cold blue mist.
Hills catch the setting sun, sky and water merge.
Unfeeling, fragrant grasses grow
On and on past the setting sun.
Unhappy homesick soul
Obsessed with travel cares—
Night brings no relief
Except when pleasant dreams prolong the sleep.
Don’t look out the high window when the moon shines—
The wine in your melancholy heart
Will turn to tears of longing.
Translated by James Robert Hightower
Fan Chung-yen’s father died when he was still very young and he took the surname Chu when his mother remarried. He studied in a rural Buddhist temple and received the assistance of a number of generous patrons, with the result that he was able to pass the examinations for Presented Scholar in 1015. He became the leader of an initial reform of Northern Sung institutions and thus prepared the way for the major reforms of Ou-yang Hsiu (see selection 174) and Wang An-shih (see selection 55). Although he was not a prolific author, his poems, prose pieces, and lyrics (especially his short lyrics) are nonetheless highly appreciated.
1. The name is probably the transcription of some Central Asian word, whence the tune originally came.