The Brocade Zither
English translation and interpretation are being reviewed.
一弦一柱思华年。
庄生晓梦迷蝴蝶，
望帝春心托杜鹃。
沧海月明珠有泪，
蓝田日暖玉生烟。
此情可待成追忆，
只是当时已惘然。
English translation
The brocaded zither, for no reason, has fifty strings, each string, each bridge, recalls the splendid years.
Zhuangzi dreamed at dawn of a butterfly, and was bewildered, Emperor Wang entrusted his spring heart to the cuckoo.
In the vast sea, beneath the bright moon, the pearl holds tears, at Lantian, in the warm sun, the jade gives off smoke.
This feeling might have waited to become a memory, only, even at that time, it was already lost.
Meaning
Why should the splendid zither have fifty strings? Each string and each bridge calls to mind the years of my youth.
Zhuang Zhou in dream became a butterfly fluttering in flight; Emperor Wang lodged his hidden grief in the cuckoo.
The bright moon shines over the blue sea where the mermaid weeps tears that turn to pearls; the sun is warm above Lantian, where one may see the fine jade send up a haze.
Why should this moment and this scene be recalled only now? Because even at the time my heart was filled with bewilderment.
Background
Read the background
This poem was written around the poet's later years; the exact date is unknown. The intent behind "The Ornate Zither" has always been debated endlessly without resolution. Some read it as a patriotic piece; some as an elegy mourning his dead wife; some as a lament over his own lot and an assertion of his literary gifts; others as an expression of longing for a serving maid. The poem was written after the death of Li Shangyin's wife, and hence the fifty strings carry the sense of a broken string.