顾太清（1799-约1876），清朝女词人。名春，字子春，号太清。满族。精于词学，尤重周邦彦、姜夔之作致力于咏物、题画。与纳兰性德（即成容若）齐名，有“满洲词人，男中成容若，女中太清春”之称。也工于诗。有《东海渔歌》《天游阁集》等。
Gu Taiqing (1799- approximately 1876) was a female poet of the Qing Dynasty. Name Chun, courtesy name Zichun, and literary name Taiqing. Manchu people. Proficient in the study of ci poetry, with particular emphasis on the works of Zhou Bangyan and Jiang Kui, dedicated to chanting objects and inscribing paintings. Along with Nalan Xingde (also known as Cheng Rongruo), he is known as a “Manchu poet, with Cheng Rongruo among men and Tai Qingchun among women”. Also working on poetry. There are songs such as “Donghai Fishing Song” and “Tianyou Pavilion Collection”.
The poem “Cherish the Hairpin and Watch the Boy Shake in the Sky” is a work by Gu Taiqing, a female poet in the Qing Dynasty. By depicting scenes of children playing, it conveys the author’s profound understanding of human affairs.
顾太清·《惜分钗·看童子抖空中》
春将至，
晴天气，
消闲坐看儿童戏。
借天风，
鼓其中，
结彩为绳，
截竹为筒。
空！空！
人间事，
观愚智，
大都制器存深意。
理无穷，
事无终，
实则能鸣，
虚则能容。
冲！冲！
Xi fen chai:
Watching the Children Play with a Kongzhong1 Barrel-Twirl
Gu Taiqing
Spring’s nearly here.
Sunny-sky weather…
Sitting idly by, I watch the children at play.
Borrowing high winds.
To drum up inside . . .
Knotting colored yarn as string.
Sawing up bamboo for the barrel.
Kong Kong.
Here in humans’ realm.
Observe fool and sage.
Nearly all make vessels to contain a deep intent.
Nature’s laws endless.
Matters without cease.
What’s full can make sound.
What’s empty can receive.
Chong Chong.2
1. The kongzhong is a child’s noise-making toy of hollow bamboo manipulated by a string. The instrument’s name suggests the void (kong), a notion on which Gu plays here in Daoistic mode.
2. The word chong used here invokes chapter 5 of the Dao De Jing, which may be an onomatopoeia, but its lexical meanings include “a whirling sound; a dashing movement through air; limpid/placid.”
（David McCraw 译）
