A SONG OF THE SOUTHERN RIVER by Li Yi - 江南曲 李益
唐诗三百首 Tang Shi San Bai Shou
A Selection from the
300 Tang Dynasty Poems
A SONG OF THE SOUTHERN RIVER by Li Yi - 江南曲 李益
江南曲
李益
嫁得瞿塘賈，
朝朝誤妾期。
早知潮有信，
嫁與弄潮兒。
江南曲
李益
嫁(Marry)得(Receive)瞿(Qu)塘(Tang)賈(Merchant/Tradesman)，
朝(Morning)朝(Morning)誤(Miss)妾(I/My)期(Date/Time)。
早(Early)知(Know)潮(Tide)有(Have/Has/Keep)信(Faith/Promise)，
嫁(Marry)與(And/To)弄(Play)潮(Tide)兒(Boy)。
瞿(Qu)塘(Tang): the name of a place.
妾(I/My): female form.
早 (Early)知(Know): combination of these two character indicated a precognition term or condition, such as ‘If I knew early/I already knew….’
A SONG OF THE SOUTHERN RIVER
Li Yi
I am Married and Received by the Qu Tang Tradesman,
but Morning by Morning he Missed My Time.
I’ve already known that the tide keeps its Promise,
then I should have married to the Boy Playing in tide.
Note: The poet used the metaphor of Woman’s Time and the Tide to express the need of woman for her man to live and work according to a regular schedule, like the tide. However it is a forlorn hope a her current husband misses all the time, and every time.
Qu Tang: the name of a place.
Li Yi 李益 (770 - 827) was a poet of the Tang Dynasty.
The Three Hundred Tang Poems is an anthology of poems from the Chinese Tang Dynasty (618 - 907) compiled around 1763 by Sun Zhu (孫誅), the Qing scholar also known as Hengtang Tuishi (衡塘退士 "Retired Master of Hengtang"). Dissatisfied with the anthology Poems by a Thousand Masters (Qianjiashi 千家詩) compiled by Liu Kezhuang in the late Southern Song, Sun selected the poems based on their popularity and educational value. The collection has been popular ever since and can be found in many Chinese households. For centuries, elementary students memorized the poems and used them to learn to read and write. It contains poems by Du Fu, Li Bai, Wang Wei, Li Shangyin, Meng Haoran, Han Yu, Du Mu, Bai Juyi, Liu Changqing, Cen Shen, Wang Changling, Wei Yingwu, and more. (Wikipedia)
