Li Yu’s Timeless Sorrow Song | Generated by AI
Question: Provide an introduction to the poem “Yu Meiren” (虞美人)
Answer:
虞美人 (Yu Mei Ren / The Beauty of Yu) is one of the most famous ci (词) patterns in Chinese literature and one of the most recognizable works of the lyric poetry genre.
Basic Information
- Ci pai (tune title / cipai): 虞美人 (Yú Měi Rén)
- Tone pattern name origin: Named after the historical beauty Yu Ji (虞姬), consort of Xiang Yu (项羽), the Hegemon-King of Western Chu.
- Metrical structure: Double stanza (双调), 56 characters total
- Common pattern: 7-5-7-5 // 7-5-7-5-7-5
- Rhyme scheme: usually aaba // ccdc (平水韵中常押平声韵)
- Most typical mood: melancholy, nostalgic, regretful, homesick, or facing the pain of separation / the passage of time
The single most famous version
虞美人 · 春花秋月何时了
Author: Li Yu (李煜), last ruler of the Southern Tang dynasty (南唐后主)
Written ≈ 978–978 CE, after he had been captured and was living under house arrest in Bianjing (Kaifeng) as a defeated monarch.
Full text (most widely circulated version):
春花秋月何时了，往事知多少。
小楼昨夜又东风，故国不堪回首月明中。
雕栏玉砌应犹在，只是朱颜改。
问君能有几多愁？恰似一江春水向东流。
English translation (very literal + poetic feeling):
When will spring flowers and autumn moon ever end?
How much of the bygone affairs do I still remember?
Last night the east wind again entered my small tower,
I cannot bear to look back toward my lost country under the bright moon.
The carved railings and jade inlaid steps must still be there,
Only the rosy faces have changed.
If someone asks: how much sorrow can one person have?
It is just like a whole river of spring water flowing eastward.
Why this poem is considered a masterpiece
- Extremely simple language → but creates overwhelming emotional power
- Uses natural images (spring flower, autumn moon, east wind, river) to express infinite personal grief
- The last two lines became the most famous metaphor for boundless sorrow in the entire Chinese literary tradition
“问君能有几多愁？恰似一江春水向东流” is quoted, alluded to, and parodied countless times over 1,000+ years - Perfectly matches the typical late Li Yu mood: honest, direct, almost childlike vulnerability mixed with deep despair
Other Notable 虞美人 poems
- Li Qingzhao (李清照): “红酥手，黄縢酒……” (very different, more restrained and elegant grief)
- Yan Shu (晏殊), Yan Jidao (晏几道), Qin Guan (秦观), etc. — many excellent Song dynasty examples
- Modern / contemporary poets also continue to write in this form
In short:
虞美人 = one of the most emotionally naked and musically beautiful ci forms
李煜的《虞美人·春花秋月何时了》 = almost certainly the single most famous ci poem in Chinese history
References:
- None (classical Chinese literature knowledge; standard text widely available in public domain)