Untitled: Meeting Is Difficult, Parting Too
Meeting is difficult, and parting is difficult too;
The east wind has weakened and the flowers fade.
The spring silkworm spins until its death;
The candle’s tears dry only when it becomes ash.
At the morning mirror, one fears the dark hair changing;
Reciting at night, the other may feel the moonlight cold.
The way to Penglai is not so very far from here;
May the blue bird kindly go and bring news.
Notes
The silkworm’s silk sounds like the word for longing in Chinese. Candle tears are drops of wax that also evoke weeping. Penglai is a legendary mountain, and a blue bird is a mythical messenger. The poem’s precise addressee and implied meaning are debated.
Meaning
The poem moves from difficult parting through images of silk, candle wax and moonlight to a wish that a mythical messenger carry news.
Appreciation
Two uses of “difficult” frame meeting and parting against the fading flowers of late spring.
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Silk echoes the sound of longing, while candle wax suggests tears and endurance.
Morning and night extend the sense of concern across the day; the night line is often read as imagining the other person.
The mythical blue bird offers a way to send news, while the untitled poem leaves its exact addressee open.
About the poet
Li Shangyin (c. 813–c. 858), courtesy name Yishan, was a late Tang poet. His family came from the area of present-day Qinyang, Henan; accounts of his dates differ.
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He served in regional offices and wrote works including The Patterned Zither and poems titled Untitled.
Readers differ on the addressee of Night Rain Sent North and the specific meaning of Chang’e.