Bai Juyi: Poplar and Willow Tree Branches

Poplar and Willow Tree Branches

杨 柳 枝 词

一 树 春 风 于 万 枝
嫩 如 金 色 软 于 丝。
永 丰 西 角 荒 园 里
尽 日 无 人 属 阿 谁？

Yang Liu Zhi Ci

Yi shu chun feng yu wan zhi
Nen ru jin se ruan yu si.
Yong feng xi jiao huang yuan li
Jin ri wu ren shu e shei ?

Poplar and Willow Tree Branches

Spring breezes, one tree with thousands of branches
Golden colors tender and seductive, like soft and pliable silk.
Western corner of Yongfeng borough with uncultivated inner gardens
Setting sun, who can cater to and be part of a place with no people?

Notes:

This famous poem was written in 845 AD. The emperor, Tang Wuzong, loved these trees so much, that he ordered them to be propagated and brought to one of the Chang’an palaces for planting and his enjoyment.