寄内 Send to my Wife
孔仲平 Author: Kong zhongping, 11th century
试说途中景，try talk way in scenery
方知别后心。not until know parting after heart/feeling
行人日暮少，walking person sun evening/dust few
风雪乱山深。wind snow chaos mountain deep
Translation:
I try to put into words what the land is like here.
I didn’t understand until I left you how hard this would be.
Few travelers are left when the sun goes down.
Deep within this lawless mountain, there’s only wind and snow.
行次寿州寄内 Send to my Wife when Arriving at the Shou Province
欧阳修 Author: Ou Yangxiu, 11th century
紫金山下水长流，Zi Jin mountain under water long flow
尝记当年此共游。once remember in those year this place together travel
今夜南风吹客梦，today night south wind blow guest dream
清淮明月照孤舟。clear Huai bright moon shine lonely boat.
Translation:
Beneath Zi Jin mountain, the ever flowing river,
Do you remember when we came here long ago?
Tonight the south wind blows in this traveler’s dream
And a bright moon over the clear Huai river shines on a lonely boat.
Translation notes:
Both poems were written by poets of the Song Dynasty to their wives. The first poem was written by Kong Zhongping, a poet during the Northern Song dynasty. He composed this poem when he was banished from court and demoted to a provincial government position in the south. Kong wrote it to his wife on his journey south. The second poem was written by Ou Yangxiu, also a poet during the Northern Song dynasty. Ou was traveling alone and reminisced about the good times when he and his wife travelled together. These two poems clearly show that both poets treated their wives as intimate relatives whom they respected, shared their feelings with, and saw as someone who could provide a shoulder to cry on.
In ancient China, poets sometimes wrote poems to their wives and about other women, such as concubines or courtesans, with whom they had relationships. The poems they wrote to their wives were generally very different from those about concubines or singing girls with whom they had affairs. When ancient Chinese poets admired a woman’s beauty in their poems, it was usually not their wives but their concubines or courtesans with whom they had affairs. As most ancient Chinese poets came from the educated upper class, they typically married women of similar rank. Objectifying their wives in poems was politically inconvenient, as these women brought social resources and typically had influential families behind them. In contrast, ancient Chinese poets often objectified concubines or courtesans, admiring their beauty and sometimes even boasting about their affairs with these women. On our website, we’ve translated a poem by Li Bai about a courtesan or singing girl he interacted with.
On a separate note, my friend Vickie and I have established a Substack dedicated to classical Chinese poems. Our Substack offers a deep historical context for the poems and organizes related poems into groups. We invite you to subscribe to our Substack (with free subscription) for regular updates featuring new translations and commentary articles.