浪淘沙(làng táo shā)

Lang Tao Sha

李煜【南唐】(lǐ yù, nán táng)

By Li Lu, Southern Tang Dynasty (AD 937975)

帘外雨潺潺，春意阑珊，

(lián wài yǔ chán chán, chūn yì lán shān,)

Outside the curtain, the rain is pattering. It is the last intimation of spring.

罗衾不耐五更寒。

(luó qīn bú nài wǔ gèng hán.)

The satin cover is too thin to deliver warmth for the coldness in the dawn.

梦里不知身是客，一晌贪欢。

(mèng lǐ bù zhī shēn shì kè, yì shǎng tān huān.)

In my dream, I have momentarily enjoyed all delightful

things without realizing I am beyond that world.

独自莫凭栏，无限江山，

(dú zì mò píng lán, wú xiàn jiāng shān,)

Why should I lean upon the rail alone, facing this extraordinary, beautiful landscape?

别时容易见时难。

(bié shí róng yì jiàn shí nán.)

It's easy to leave behind, but hard to reencounter.

流水落花春去也，天上人间！

(liú shuǐ luò huā chūn qù yě, tiān shàng rén jiān!)

Flowing water and fallen flowers, gone with spring. Heaven and earth!

Summary:

Li Yu (937978), was the last king of the Southern Tang Dynasty. When he was chosen to be the crown prince in 961, the kingdom had already been bogged down with crises. In 975, the neighboring Song conquered Jinling, the capital of Li's kingdom, and made him a captive in the Song capital Bianjing. In this poem, he expresses his deep and complex feelings through vivid metaphors  and descriptions, which delivers a strong feeling.