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Huā Xià ZuìDrunk Beneath the Flowers 花下醉
Li Shangyin falls asleep drunk among flowers and wakes at night to view them by candle.
Original Chinese text with pinyin
寻芳不觉醉流霞
xún fāng bù jué zuì liú xiá
倚树沈眠日已斜
yǐ shù shěn mián rì yǐ xié
客散酒醒深夜后
kè sàn jiǔ xǐng shēn yè hòu
更持红烛赏残花
gèng chí hóng zhú shǎng cán huā
Simplified characters; traditional title: 花下醉.
English translation
Seeking blossoms, I got drunk on rosy wine without knowing it;
leaning on a tree, I slept deeply till the sun was low.
The guests gone, I sober up deep in the night,
and take a red candle to admire the last of the flowers.
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
Li Shangyin falls asleep drunk among flowers and wakes at night to view them by candle. The scene stays with you.
Background
Li Shangyin falls asleep drunk among flowers and wakes at night to view them by candle.
Key words
- 寻芳 xún fāng
- key word in the poem
- 不觉 bù jué
- key word in the poem
- 醉流 zuì liú
- key word in the poem
About the poet: Li Shangyin
Li Shangyin wrote dense, allusive and beautiful poems, many of them untitled love poems whose meaning is still debated. Caught between court factions, he never rose high in office.
Lifetime: c. 813–858. Other famous works: Night Rain: Sent North (夜雨寄北); Climbing Leyou Plain (登乐游原); Untitled (Hard Is the Meeting) (无题); The Ornate Zither (锦瑟); Clearing at Dusk (晚晴); Drunk Beneath the Flowers (花下醉); Frost and Moon (霜月).
More by Li Shangyin
- Climbing Leyou Plain登乐游原
- Night Rain: Sent North夜雨寄北
- Untitled (Hard Is the Meeting)无题
- The Ornate Zither锦瑟
- Clearing at Dusk晚晴
- Frost and Moon霜月