42. Wu Songs of Ziye: The Winter Song

A poem by Li Bai, translated by Hyun Woo Kim, and an announcement

Tomorrow morning, the postrider will leave;

A night of padding the battledress with cotton.

A pulled-out needle is cold to the white hands;

How can holding the scissors be endured?

The sewn clothes will be dispatched afar;

When will it be, the day to reach Lintao?

「子夜吳歌-冬歌」

明朝驛使發

一夜絮征袍

素手抽針冷

那堪把剪刀

裁縫寄遠道

幾日到臨洮

From Hyun Woo:

Merry Christmas! Today’s poem is about a woman padding and sewing a battledress for her lover all night despite the cold. The lover is far away, and she should finish working on it before the postmaster leaves in the morning. I believe the poem is pretty easy to understand, and there is nothing much to explain.

It has been a long time since I did this, but I am introducing a song to you today. It’s a Japanese oldie about a woman knitting a sweater for her lover, that is never to be worn. They seem to be forever separated for unknown reasons, but she still misses him. It’s winter, and she is at an “inn of the North”. Not so surprising that I thought of this song when reading Li Bai’s poem, right? Hope you enjoy the song, and see you next year!

Announcement:

I know being told to become a paid subscriber for four weeks straight can be tiring but I am just telling you one last time because not everyone opens my newsletter every week, and this week is the last chance to become a paid subscriber if someone wants to receive a Classical Chinese poetry postcard in January. Please remember: you need to become a paid subscriber by December 31st if you want the postcard in the coming month! Next month, I will be either DMing or emailing the paid subscribers and asking for their addresses. However, if I already have your address, no worries. I will send the postcard to your address.

-Hyun Woo

If you enjoyed my work, you can buy me a cup of tea. I am not a coffee person, by the way.