Short Concubine Life
妾 薄 命
汉 帝 重 阿 娇
贮 之 黄 金 屋。
咳 唾 落 九 天
随 风 生 珠 玉。
宠 极 爱 还 歇
妒 深 情 却 疏。
长 门 一 步 地
不 肯 暂 回 车。
雨 落 不 上 天
水 覆 重 难 收。
君 情 与 妾 意
各 自 东 西 流。
昔 日 芙 蓉 花
今 城 断 根 草。
以 色 事 他 人
能 得 几 时 好？
Qie Bao Ming
Han di chong e jiao
Zhu zhi huang jin wu.
Ke tuo luo jiu tian
Sui feng sheng zhu yu.
Chong ji ai huan xie
Du shen qing que shu.
Chang men yi bu di
Bu ken zan hui che.
Yu luo bu shang tian
Shui fu chong nan shou
Jun qing yu qie yi
Ge zi dong xi liu.
Xi ri fu rong hua
Jin cheng duan gen cao.
Yi se shi ta ren
Neng dei ji shi hao?
Short Concubine Life
Han emperor met his bride-to-be before he was recognized as a prince
He promised her father to give her a yellow gold house.
Her saliva revered as falling down from the Nine Heavens
Following the wind, it congeals into pearls and jade.
To the utmost, cherished and indulged by others
Deeply jealous emotions when the prince’s concubine became pregnant with a son.
Confined to Changmen, beyond the eyes of palace onlookers
Emperor never wanted to see her again.
Falling rain can not rise and return to the sky
Water spilled out difficult to bring in again.
Emperor and empress desires and feelings
Flowing one to the east, and one to the west.
In former days, lotus blossoms
Today become rootless weeds.
Are a person’s qualities capable of being given to other people
For how long a time?
Notes:
Nine Heavens: In ancient China, the sky was divided into nine sections in the form of a chessboard. Also known as the Nine Layers of Heaven.
Changmen: Palace within the “Forbidden City”.