BOOKMARK

Gathering Mulberry Trees: After the Myriad Fragrances Fade

By Ouyang Xiu Song Dynasty

English Poetic Translation

Once floral multitudes depart, the West Lake shines,
In scattered drifts of spent and crimson bloom.
While misty catkins fill the air with gloom,
And weeping willows toss through day's long winds.

When flutes have hushed and revelers have gone,
We feel at last how empty spring has grown.
Then folding down the silken window screen,
Twin swallows homeward fly through silver rain.

Classical Chinese & Pinyin

羣芳過後西湖好，狼籍殘紅。
飛絮濛濛。
垂柳闌干盡日風。
笙歌散盡遊人去，始覺春空。
垂下簾櫳。
雙燕歸來細雨中。

qún fāng guò hòu xī hú hǎo, láng jí cán hóng.
fēi xù méng méng.
chuí liǔ lán gān jìn rì fēng.
sēng gē sàn jìn yóu rén qù, shǐ jué chūn kōng.
chuí xià lián lóng.
shuāng yàn guī lái xì yǔ zhōng.

Philological Direct Translation

Flocks of flowers having passed, West Lake is good, scattered and in disorder are the remaining reds.
Flying catkins are misty and dense.
Drooping willows by the balustrade all day face the wind.
Flute and song having scattered completely, pleasure-seekers gone, only then one perceives the spring's emptiness.
Lowering down the window blinds.
A pair of swallows return amid fine rain.

Scholarly Exegesis & Cultural Commentary

I. Formal Poetic Architecture & Meter

This lyric is composed to the tune of "Picking Mulberries" (Cai sang zi), a mid-length Song ci meter characterized by its sprightly yet elegiac rhythm. The structure comprises two stanzas, totaling forty-four characters, moving through a precise sonic and spatial shift from external public space to internal private seclusion. The rhyme scheme relies on level-tone endings (hong, meng, feng, kong, long, zhong), creating a resonant, melancholy echo that underscores the transient beauty of late spring. Ouyang Xiu employs crisp, economical phrasing, juxtaposing broad scenic expanses with intimate domestic details to achieve a balanced architectural elegance.

II. Historical Chronology & Existential Impulse

Written during Ouyang Xiu's later official years, particularly reflecting his tenure and frequent excursions around the West Lake in Hangzhou, the poem captures a mature scholar-official's contemplation of time and mortality. Having weathered intense factional court politics and administrative burdens, Ouyang's artistic vision matured into one of gentle resignation and acute sensory awareness. The transition from bustling spring festivities to absolute solitude mirrors the poet's own withdrawal from the peak of political engagement into philosophical introspection.

III. Line-by-Line Exegesis & Allusion Decoding

Lines 1-3 (Opening Stanza): The lyric opens with a provocative paradox: "After the myriad fragrances have passed, the West Lake is fine." The visual landscape is defined by "scattered remnants of red petals" (langji canhong) and "misty, flying catkins" (feixu mengmeng). Rather than mourning spring at its zenith, the poet finds a refined, quiet beauty in its decline. The "drooping willows against the balustrade" sway all day in the wind, establishing a tone of desolate freedom.
Lines 4-5 (Stanza Transition): "The flutes and songs have dissipated, the tourists have departed, / Only then one perceives the emptiness of spring." This crucial pivot marks the emotional core of the poem. The collective merriment of the crowd gives way to an aching realization of seasonal void, highlighting the transient nature of human pleasure against the backdrop of indifferent nature.
Lines 6-7 (Closing Stanza): The perspective shifts abruptly inward: "Lowering the bamboo blinds, / A pair of swallows returns amidst the fine drizzle." The physical enclosure of the curtain shuts out the desolate outer world, while the returning swallows symbolize domestic continuity and emotional attachment, offering a bittersweet counterpoint to the poet's solitary reflection.

IV. Aesthetic Synthesis & Poetic Aftertaste

The poem achieves its profound aesthetic resonance through the delicate interplay between public disillusionment and private sanctuary. By refusing heavy-handed lamentation, Ouyang Xiu employs a technique of muted contrast—moving from the chaotic remnants of revellers to the quiet geometry of falling rain and returning swallows. The lingering aftertaste is one of gentle melancholy, establishing a standard for the Song lyric's capacity to transform everyday scenic observation into timeless existential contemplation.