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Flowing Wind Lyric: The Small Pond in Fresh Green

By Zhou Bangyan Song Dynasty

English Poetic Translation

Fresh green envelops the small pond.
Wind stirs the bead-curtains, shattering shadows across the slanted sun.
I envy the swallows returning to their golden nests of old, where mossy vines now twine along the ancient walls.
Deep within the embroidered chambers and phoenix screens, how often music echoed from their zithers.
Words rise to the lips, then fade, fearing to break the promised trust; before a song begins, the throat chokes with sorrow, reluctant to face the clear wine cup.
From afar I picture her finishing her morning makeup, pushing open the vermilion doors, waiting quietly by the western moonlit chamber.
Most cruel of all, my wandering soul tonight cannot reach her path.
When shall we speak of intimate vows and secret tidings, mirroring our hearts like the bronze of Qin, sharing the stolen incense of Han?
If Heaven truly pitied mortal longing, would a brief embrace be asking too much?

Classical Chinese & Pinyin

新綠小池塘。
風簾動，碎影舞斜陽。
羨金屋去來，舊時巢燕，土花繚繞，前度莓牆。
繡閣鳳幃深幾許，曾聽得理絲簧。
欲說又休，慮乖芳信，未歌先咽，愁近清觴。
遙知新妝了，開朱戶，應自待月西廂。
最苦夢魂，今宵不到伊行。
問甚時說與，佳音密耗，寄將秦鏡，偷換韓香。
天便教人，霎時廝見何妨。

xīn lǜ xiǎo chí táng.
fēng lián dòng, suì yǐng wǔ xié yáng.
xiàn jīn wū qù lái, jiù shí cháo yàn, tǔ huā liáo rào, qián dù méi qiáng.
xiù gé fèng wéi shēn jǐ xǔ, céng tīng de lǐ sī huáng.
yù shuō yòu xiū, lǜ guāi fāng xìn, wèi gē xiān yàn, chóu jìn qīng shāng.
yáo zhī xīn zhuāng liǎo, kāi zhū hù, yīng zì dài yuè xī xiāng.
zuì kǔ mèng hún, jīn xiāo bú dào yī háng.
wèn shén shí shuō yǔ, jiā yīn mì hào, jì jiāng qín jìng, tōu huàn hán xiāng.
tiān biàn jiào rén, shà shí sī jiàn hé fáng.

Philological Direct Translation

New green small pond.
Wind curtain moves, broken shadows dance slanted sun.
Envious golden house coming and going, old time nesting swallows, earth flowers twine round, previous time mossy walls.
Embroidered pavilion phoenix curtains deep how much, once heard of tuning silk zithers.
Wanting to speak yet pausing, fearing to miss fragrant news, before singing first choking, sorrow approaching clear goblet.
Afar knowing new makeup finished, opening vermilion door, should naturally await moon western chamber.
Most bitter dream soul, tonight not reaching that person's path.
Asking when time spoken with, fine news secret whisper, sending along Qin mirror, secretly exchanging Han incense.
Heaven if causes people, a moment meeting each other what harm.

Scholarly Exegesis & Cultural Commentary

I. Formal Poetic Architecture & Meter

This ci lyric is composed to the tune of Fengliu Zi (Amorous Son), a relatively long and complex double-stanza template characteristic of the late Northern Song master Zhou Bangyan. The meter follows strict tonal patterns and regulated rhyme transitions unique to this melody. The structure deploys asymmetrical line lengths and rapid shifts in pacing, moving from serene, external landscape observation in the opening to deeply internalized psychological anguish. The rhyme scheme shifts fluidly across the two stanzas, maintaining musical cadence through precise caesuras that dictate emotional breathing spaces, perfectly matching the hesitations and stifled breaths of the lyrical persona.

II. Historical Chronology & Existential Impulse

Written during the late Northern Song dynasty, this piece exemplifies Zhou Bangyan's pioneering contributions to the ci genre, elevating it into a vehicle for intricate psychological realism and structural architectural brilliance. While specific biographical anchors remain debated, the poem reflects the urbanized elite culture of Bianjing, where refined leisure, courtesan culture, and deep melancholy intertwined. Zhou's existential impulse here is not merely conventional romantic longing, but an exploration of the agonizing mechanics of memory, separation, and the desperate anticipation of reunion within the rigid confines of elite domestic spaces.

III. Line-by-Line Exegesis & Allusion Decoding

Stanza 1, Lines 1-3 (Opening Landscape and Movement): The poem opens with a vivid vignette of fresh greenery around a small pond, instantly establishing a springtime setting. As the wind stirs the beaded curtains, shattered shadows dance in the slant of the setting sun, projecting a restless, fleeting temporal atmosphere.
Stanza 1, Lines 4-7 (Memory and Architectural Decay): The persona gazes at returning swallows, recalling the legendary Golden House of Han Emperor Wu, contrasting past imperial luxury with the present reality of earth moss wrapping around former mud nests and overgrown mossy walls. The deep embroidered chambers recall past echoes of zither strings, evoking bitter nostalgia.
Stanza 2, Lines 1-5 (Internalized Emotional Turmoil): The persona experiences acute paralysis of expression: wanting to speak yet holding back for fear of missing proper timing, starting to sing but choking back tears, dreading even the approach of wine cups. This captures the psychological claustrophobia of longing.
Stanza 2, Lines 6-10 (Imagined Reunion and Tortured Dreams): The persona imagines the beloved finishing her makeup, opening vermilion doors to await the moon in the western chamber. The bitterest torment is that dreams fail to travel to her side tonight. References to the Qin mirror and Han Xiang allude to deep marital separation and secret, intimate tokens of devotion.
Stanza 2, Lines 11-12 (Concluding Plea): The lyric concludes with a direct, almost defiant apostrophe to Heaven, questioning why even a momentary fleeting glimpse is denied to lovers, ending on a note of poignant, unresolved yearning.

IV. Aesthetic Synthesis & Poetic Aftertaste

Zhou Bangyan achieves in this lyric a masterclass of temporal layering and emotional orchestration. By seamlessly blending external springtime imagery with the frantic interior monologue of a separated lover, he avoids simplistic sentimentalism. The poem leaves a lingering aftertaste of exquisite frustration; the psychological realism of the persona's self-censorship and shattered dreams secures its place as a pinnacle of Song dynasty lyric craftsmanship.