Untitled: Soughing East Wind and Fine Rain
English translation and interpretation are being reviewed.
芙蓉塘外有轻雷。
金蟾啮锁烧香入，
玉虎牵丝汲井回。
贾氏窥帘韩掾少，
宓妃留枕魏王才。
春心莫共花争发，
一寸相思一寸灰！
English translation
Rustling, the east wind brings a fine rain, beyond the lotus pond there is faint thunder.
The golden toad bites the lock as incense drifts in, the jade tiger draws the rope, drawing water from the well.
The Jia girl peeped through the blind at young Han the clerk, the goddess left her pillow for the talent of the King of Wei.
Let not the spring heart vie with the blossoms in bursting, an inch of longing is an inch of ash!
Meaning
The east wind rustles, fine rain drifts down; beyond the lotus pond comes the sound of soft thunder.
The fragrance of the golden-toad censer with its locked lid refreshes the heart; the well-sweep shaped like a jade tiger draws the rope to lift the water.
Lady Jia peered through the curtain at Han Shou in his handsome youth; the goddess Fu Fei presented a jade pillow, admiring the literary grace of Cao Zhi.
Let the heart's longing for fair love never vie with the spring blossoms in glory, lest my heart of longing scatter like flying ash.
Background
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The exact date of this poem is difficult to establish; it is the second of the four untitled poems. Their forms vary, and no necessary connection can be seen among them in content; they need not be a group written at one time upon a single theme.