【Poem】Slow, Slow Tune《声声慢》

作者是宋朝的词人李清照。The author was Li Qingzhao, a poet from the Song Dynasty.

I look for what I miss. I know not what it is.
I feel so sad, so drear. So lonely, without cheer.
How hard is it. To keep me fit.
In this lingering cold! Hardly warmed up.
By cup on cup. Of wine so dry,
O how could I endure at dust the drift.
Of wind so swift?
It breaks my heart, alas!
To see the wild geese pass,
For they are my acquaintances of old.

The ground is covered with yellow flowers,
aded and fallen in showers.
Who will pick them up now?
Sitting alone at the window,
How could I but quicken,
The pace of darkness that won't thicken.
On plane's broad leaves a fine rain drizzles.
As twilight grizzles.
O what can I do with a grief
Beyond belief?（Translator: Xu Yuanchong）

寻寻觅觅，冷冷清清，凄凄惨惨戚戚。乍暖还寒时候，最难将息。三杯两盏淡酒，怎敌他、晚来风急！雁过也，正伤心，却是旧时相识。
满地黄花堆积，憔悴损，如今有谁堪摘？守着窗儿，独自怎生得黑？梧桐更兼细雨，到黄昏、点点滴滴。这次第，怎一个愁字了得！

This poem was composed by Li Qingzhao in her later years. The exact date of its creation remains uncertain. Some people believe it was written after the Southern Migration, during which the Jin army invaded, the Northern Song Dynasty collapsed, and her husband passed away. A series of consecutive blows caused her to experience the profound pain of the country's destruction and family's ruin, as well as the hardships of wandering and homelessness. The sense of national defeat and the grief of losing her husband, all these emotions accumulated in her heart and could not be dispelled. Thus, she wrote this poem, Slow,Slow Tune. Others, however, believe it was written during her middle age.

The opening line of this poem is quite unusual, using seven consecutive sets of repeated words. Not only is this unique in the field of poetry composition, but it is also unprecedented in poetry, songs and operas. However, the benefits do not stop here. These seven sets of repeated words are also extremely musical. Song poetry is meant to be sung, so the harmony of the melody is a very important aspect. Li Qingzhao had a profound understanding of music, so when these seven sets of repeated words are read aloud, it gives a feeling like pearls falling onto a jade plate. It feels like the teeth and tongue are repeatedly chanting, lingering and depressed, gentle and sad, as if hearing a person who is extremely sad whispering in a low voice. However, even before she starts speaking, it seems that she has already made the audience feel her sadness, and even after she finishes speaking, that sad emotion still hasn't dissipated. A mysterious kind of melancholy spreads throughout the heart and the air, lingering for a long time and leaving an endless aftertaste.

The translated version may not fully capture the beauty of the repeated words. If time permits, I will provide a pinyin version for everyone.

In a bad mood, coupled with this chilly weather that alternates between warmth and cold, the poet couldn't even fall asleep. If she could fall into a deep sleep, she might be able to escape the pain for a short while. But the more she tried to sleep, the more difficult it became. So the poet naturally thought of her deceased husband. She got up, put on her coat, and had a drink to warm herself. However, the cold was caused by loneliness, and drinking like tea or alcohol only made one feel even more desolate when alone.

With a cup of light wine in hand, on this gloomy, cloudy and chilly day, suddenly a lone wild goose let out a mournful cry. That plaintive sound pierced through the sky and once again tore open the wounds that the poet had not yet healed. The poet sighed: Alas, wild goose, you are calling so mournfully and plaintively. Could you be like me, having lost your mate in old age? Could you also be like me, having to face thousands of mountains in the distance and a thousand peaks covered in snow all alone for the rest of your life? In a state of wild speculation and blurred tears, suddenly, he felt that this wild goose was the very one that had delivered love letters for him and his husband before. How desolate it was!

At this moment, when I saw those chrysanthemums, I realized that the flowers had become so withered and no longer had the elegance they once had. The poet thought: How wonderful the days were when my husband was alive! We chanted poems together, sorted out ancient books, but now? Only I am suffering this endless loneliness alone. The old things remain the same, but the person has completely changed. Facing this gloomy sky, how can one endure until dusk comes? The long duration makes the loneliness even more terrifying. Alone, even time seems to be moving slower.

At this moment, when I saw those chrysanthemums, I realized that the flowers had become so withered and no longer had the elegance they once had. The poet thought: How wonderful the days were when my husband was alive! We chanted poems together, sorted out ancient books, but now? Only I am suffering this endless loneliness alone. The old things remain the same, but the person has completely changed. Facing this gloomy sky, how can one endure until dusk comes? The long duration makes the loneliness even more terrifying. Alone, even time seems to be moving slower.

Finally, the dusk arrived, but then it began to rain. The rain fell in tiny drops, pattering softly, like a sea of sorrow. It made her even more agitated. The violent wind and the torrential rain, the solitary wild goose, the withered chrysanthemums and the willows, all these things made the poet's sorrow multiply and intensify to an extreme point. There was no way to describe it, nor could it be expressed. So the poet no longer needed any comparisons or elaborations. She simply said directly: "How can one word 'sorrow' suffice to describe it!" The words were no longer able to convey the poet's emotions. It would be better to express her feelings directly.

xún xún mì mì，lěng lěng qīng qīng， qī qī cǎn cǎn qī qī。
寻寻觅觅，冷冷清清，凄凄惨惨戚戚。
zhà nuǎn hái hán shí hòu，zuì nán jiāng xī。
乍暖还寒时候，最难将息。
sān bēi liǎng zhǎn dàn jiǔ，zěn dí tā、wǎn lái fēng jí！
三杯两盏淡酒，怎敌他、晚来风急！
yàn guò yě，zhèng shāng xīn，què shì jiù shí xiāng shí。
雁过也，正伤心，却是旧时相识。

mǎn dì huáng huā duī jī，qiáo cuì sǔn，rú jīn yǒu shuí kān zhāi？
满地黄花堆积，憔悴损，如今有谁堪摘？
shǒu zhe chuāng ér，dú zì zěn shēng dé hēi？
守着窗儿，独自怎生得黑？
wú tóng gèng jiān xì yǔ，dào huáng hūn、diǎn diǎn dī dī。
梧桐更兼细雨，到黄昏、点点滴滴。
zhè cì dì，zěn yī gè chóu zì liǎo de！
这次第，怎一个愁字了得！