Page 4.20 · Reading guide for "Yu Meiren · Chun Hua Qiu Yue He Shi Liao" (Learning Focus + Reading Hints + Author Profile)
"Yu Meiren · Chun Hua Qiu Yue He Shi Liao" by Li Yu (Last Ruler of Southern Tang) · Five Dynasties Ci Classic · The Fall of a Kingdom
Page 4.20 · Reading guide for "Yu Meiren · Chun Hua Qiu Yue He Shi Liao" (Learning Focus + Reading Hints + Author Profile)
Page 4.21 · Full poem text (with annotations, classical Chinese reading aids, memorization tips, and lesson summary)
Yu Meiren · Chun Hua Qiu Yue He Shi Liao was written by Li Yu, the last ruler of the conquered Southern Tang. After surrendering to the Song dynasty, Li Yu was held captive in the Song capital Kaifeng. This ci describes his days in captivity: faced with beautiful spring blossoms and a full moon, he has no heart to enjoy them; instead, they stir his longing for his lost kingdom. While reading, notice:
This ci is selected from "Nan Tang Er Zhu Ci" (Ci Poems of the Two Masters of Southern Tang), the combined collection of Li Jing (the Southern Tang's Zhongzhu / middle ruler) and Li Yu (the Southern Tang's Houzhu / last ruler). "Yu Meiren" is the name of the ci tune pattern.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Lifespan | 937 - 978 CE |
| Dynasty | Southern Tang during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period |
| Title | The last ruler of Southern Tang; posthumously known as "Li Houzhu" (Li the Last Ruler) |
| Personality | Clever and studious from childhood; passionate about the arts |
| Accession | Succeeded his father Li Jing on the throne in 961 CE |
| Fall of the Kingdom | In 975 CE, the Song army captured the Southern Tang capital Jinling (modern Nanjing); Li Yu surrendered |
| Captivity | Detained in the Song capital Kaifeng; granted the humiliating title "Marquis Who Disobeyed the Mandate" |
| Death | After Emperor Taizong of Song ascended, Li Yu was executed on the grounds that his longing for his former kingdom had not ceased |
| Ci Style Phases | Early period: palace life and pleasures; later period: grief over the lost kingdom |
| Collected Works | Combined with his father Li Jing's ci into "Nan Tang Er Zhu Ci"; tone deeply sorrowful |
| Historical Verdict | "An unsurpassed poet — pity he had to be a king" |
When will the spring flowers and autumn moon end? How much do I know of past events! Last night, the east wind returned to the small tower❶; beneath the bright moon, my former kingdom is too painful to look upon.
The carved balustrades and jade steps❷ must still be there; only the vermilion countenance❸ has faded. If one must ask how much grief I bear — just like a river full of spring water, flowing east.
The entire ci has 56 characters, divided into upper and lower stanzas:
| Original Line | Key Terms | Analysis |
|---|---|---|
| When will the spring flowers and autumn moon end? | spring flowers and autumn moon / when will they end? | The ci opens with a rhetorical question. Spring blossoms and the autumn moon are lovely scenes, but for Li Yu each beautiful sight also reminds him that his kingdom is lost. He is therefore weary of such beauty and asks "when will it end". |
| How much do I know of past events? | past events / how much | The second line follows the question — past events cannot are quantified. The surface asks "how much", but in fact asks about the depth of his grief, expressing boundless emotion. |
| Last night the east wind returned to the small tower | small tower / last night / east wind | Small tower = Li Yu's residence after surrender; last night = suggests the passage of time; east wind = the arrival of spring. In just seven characters, time, place and scene are compressed into one. |
| My former kingdom is too painful to look upon beneath the bright moon | former kingdom / too painful to look upon / beneath the bright moon | Former kingdom = Southern Tang; too painful to look upon = cannot bear to recall; beneath the bright moon = under the moonlight (emotional climax of the upper stanza). In just nine characters, all the bitterness of losing a country is contained. |
| The carved balustrades and jade steps must still be there | carved balustrades and jade steps / must still be there | The carved balustrades and jade steps = the exquisite architecture of Southern Tang's palace; "must still be there" suggests they probably remain (though in fact they have been taken over by the Song army). The word "must" hints at the wistful conjecture of a man in changed times. |
| Only the vermilion countenance has faded | only / vermilion countenance faded | "Only" = unfortunately; "vermilion countenance faded" = beauty aged, everything has changed (Li Yu himself has aged, and the palace maid have scattered). In just five characters, the vicissitudes of life are summed up. |
| If one must ask how much grief I bear | how much grief | The upper line of the immortal couplet. The question throws out the sorrow and leads to the brilliant metaphor that follows. |
| Just like a river full of spring water, flowing east | just like / a river of spring water | The lower line of the immortal couplet. It transforms abstract "grief" into the concrete image of "a river full of spring water" — endless, unceasing, flowing east. The metaphor is so apt it has become the classical way to describe overwhelming sorrow. |
| No. | Term | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ❶ | 小樓 (xiǎo lóu) | "Small tower". Here it refers to Li Yu's residence after his surrender to Song. |
| ❷ | 雕欄玉砌 (diāo lán yù qì) | "Carved balustrades and jade-built steps". 雕欄 = carved railings; 玉砌 = jade-built steps. Here "carved balustrades and jade steps" stands metonymically for the magnificent palaces of Southern Tang. |
| ❸ | 朱顏 (zhū yán) | "Vermilion countenance" = rosy complexion. One interpretation refers to Li Yu's own face; another refers to the faces of the former Southern Tang palace maid. Both readings are acceptable. |
The word "again" expresses the poet's weariness and helplessness at the east wind returning year after year. The east wind symbolises another spring (another cycle of beautiful times), but for Li Yu each spring reminds him that his kingdom is lost and he remains a captive. The word "again" is therefore saturated with grief and weariness.
"My former kingdom is too painful to look upon beneath the bright moon" directly conveys the poet's sorrow. "Too painful" means "cannot bear"; "look upon" means "recall"; "beneath the bright moon" indicates the setting. In these nine characters, all the bitterness of losing a country is contained.
The entire ci rhymes, and reading it aloud is measured and resonant, full of musical beauty. Beyond its ringing rhymes, the ci has a desolate, moving imagery. Students should memorise the whole poem, paying particular attention to the rhyme scheme.
"If one must ask how much grief I bear" = "grief like a river" — asks about grief → compares grief to spring water → flows east (unceasing).
Three features: ① metaphor turns abstract into concrete; ② quantification ("a river" suggests vast volume); ③ dynamic ("flowing east" suggests ceaseless motion).
Scenery: spring flowers and autumn moon, small tower and east wind, bright moon, carved balustrades and jade steps, river of spring water.
Emotion: grief over past events, longing for the former kingdom, the pathos of changed times, endless sorrow.
Scenery–emotion relationship:
| Scenery (objective) | Emotion (subjective) |
|---|---|
| Spring flowers and autumn moon | Weariness, wishing it would end |
| Past events | Countless sorrows |
| Small tower and east wind | Bitter helplessness |
| Former kingdom | Too painful to look upon |
| Carved balustrades and jade steps | People and things have changed |
| Vermilion countenance faded | The vicissitudes of life |
| A river of spring water | Endless sorrow |
Written by the deposed Southern Tang monarch Li Yu while he was held captive in the Song capital Kaifeng, this ci describes beautiful scenes — spring flowers and autumn moon, the small tower and east wind, carved balustrades and jade steps — to express the agony of losing a kingdom, longing for the homeland, and the deep pathos of a man in changed times. The closing line uses "a river of spring water" to symbolise a sorrow that is endless and unceasing, making the poem an immortal lament. Tradition holds that it was Li Yu's last ci, composed shortly before he was executed by Emperor Taizong of Song.
This ci was written during Li Yu's captivity in the Song capital Kaifeng (975-978 CE). As a deposed monarch, he faced the beautiful scenes of his former kingdom — spring blossoms, autumn moon, the small tower, the carved balustrade — and, moved by memory, penned this immortal ci of national lamentation.
The "former kingdom" refers to Southern Tang, with its capital Jinling (modern Nanjing). From Kaifeng in the north, Li Yu gazes south toward a homeland he cannot revisit — "My former kingdom is beyond my bearing to look upon beneath the bright moon" — expressing the deepest pain of a fallen king.
| Term | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms | wǔ dài shí guó | The fragmented era between the Tang and Song dynasties (907-979 CE) |
| Southern Tang | nán táng | One of the Ten Kingdoms (937-975 CE) |
| Zhongzhu | zhōng zhǔ | The "middle ruler"; Li Jing, the second Southern Tang monarch |
| Houzhu | hòu zhǔ | The "last ruler"; Li Yu, the final Southern Tang monarch |
| Jinling | jīn líng | Modern-day Nanjing; capital of Southern Tang |
| Marquis Who Disobeyed the Mandate | wéi mìng hóu | The demeaning title bestowed on Li Yu after his surrender to Song |
| Captivity | yōu jìn | House arrest; confinement |
| Nan Tang Er Zhu Ci | nán táng èr zhǔ cí | The combined ci collection of Li Jing and Li Yu |
| Yu Meiren | yú měi rén | The tune pattern of this ci |
The learning focus notes "recognising traditional Chinese architecture", linked to the imagery of "the small tower", "the carved balustrade", and "vermilion countenance" in Li Yu's ci. Key features of traditional Chinese architecture include:
| Feature | Description | Corresponding Imagery in the Poem |
|---|---|---|
| Timber-frame structure | Wooden columns and beams form the main skeleton; large stone is rarely used for primary structure | The timber-built "small tower" |
| Carved balustrades and painted beams | Intricate decorative carving on balustrades, beams and columns | "The carved balustrade" — carved railings |
| Courtyard layout | Buildings arranged around symmetrical courtyards, expressing harmony between humans and nature | The tower standing within a courtyard — "Last night, the east wind returned to the small tower" |
| Vermilion lacquer | Palatial buildings are finished in vermilion red lacquer | "Vermilion countenance" — the vermilion hue of the painted face / wall |
The poem's "small tower", "carved balustrade" and "vermilion countenance" are quintessential images of traditional Chinese architecture. Li Yu uses these refined palace images to symbolise his former courtly life; now that all has changed, the imagery intensifies the desolation of national ruin.
This ci is a textbook example of borrowing scenery for emotion — through depictions of spring blossoms, the autumn moon, the small tower and the carved balustrade, the poet channels the agony of losing his kingdom and his longing for his homeland.
Scenery and emotion are seamlessly fused:
Reading through symbolic association:
The ci abounds in interrogatives that intensify emotion:
"Spring blossoms and autumn moon" (beautiful scene) combined with "past events becoming emptiness, the former kingdom beyond return" (sorrowful emotion) — this is the technique of writing grief through joyful scenes, which doubles the intensity of grief.
Why is "If one must ask how much grief I bear — just like a river full of spring water, flowing east" regarded as an immortal line? What rhetorical device does it employ?
Rhetorical device: metaphor (simile) — using "a river of spring water" to stand for "grief".
Why it has become immortal:
What rhetorical device is used in "the carved balustrades and jade steps must still be there"? What do they stand for?
Device: metonymy.
Referent: "the carved balustrades and jade steps" (the exquisite architecture of the Southern Tang palace) stands for the magnificent Southern Tang palace as a whole.
Effect: The specific, visible architectural image stands in for the abstract former kingdom — both avoiding directness and remaining vivid and concrete.
Why is the word "again" (又) in "Last night the east wind returned to the small tower" so effective?
"Again" works beautifully for three reasons:
What two interpretations can "the vermilion countenance" in "Only the vermilion countenance has faded" carry?
"Vermilion countenance" may refer to:
💡 Textbook view: Both interpretations are valid. This is precisely "shi wu da gu" (poetry admits no single fixed reading) — the same image can carry multiple layers of meaning, enriching the poem.
Draw a diagram or list to show how scenery and emotion blend together in this ci.
Scenery and emotion are intertwined throughout the poem; each image corresponds to an emotion:
Key insight: The scenery is never purely objective; every image carries Li Yu's subjective grief. This is the artistic hallmark of "scenery and emotion blended into a seamless whole".
Who wrote Yu Meiren · Chun Hua Qiu Yue He Shi Liao? When did he live?
The author is Li Yu, posthumously known as "Li Houzhu" (Li the Last Ruler), who lived from 937-978 CE. He was the last ruler of Southern Tang during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, a celebrated ci poet whose works were posthumously collected with those of his father Li Jing in Nan Tang Er Zhu Ci.
When and under what circumstances was this ci written?
The ci was written during Li Yu's captivity in the Song capital Kaifeng (975-978 CE). In 975 CE the Song army captured the Southern Tang capital Jinling (modern Nanjing); Li Yu surrendered and was detained in Kaifeng with the humiliating title "Marquis Who Disobeyed the Mandate". In his captivity, faced with the beautiful spring blossoms and full moon, he had no heart to enjoy them; instead, they stirred his longing for his lost kingdom, and he composed this ci.
How did Li Yu meet his end?
After Emperor Taizong of Song ascended, Li Yu was executed on the grounds that his longing for his former kingdom had not ceased. Tradition holds that this ci was his "deathbed poem" — composed shortly before he was poisoned to death.
What is "Yu Meiren"? From which book does this ci come?
"Yu Meiren" is the ci tune pattern. This ci comes from "Nan Tang Er Zhu Ci" (Ci Poems of the Two Masters of Southern Tang), the combined collection of Li Jing (Zhongzhu / middle ruler) and Li Yu (Houzhu / last ruler), father and son.
What are the main writing techniques of this ci?
The main techniques are:
What thoughts and feelings does this ci express?
The ci expresses the complex emotions of a fallen king: the agony of losing a kingdom, the longing for the homeland, and deep regret. Through recollections of former palace splendour (spring blossoms, autumn moon, small tower, carved balustrade) and a yearning for his lost kingdom (Jinling / Southern Tang), the poet conveys the profound desolation of a deposed monarch.