林以宁，著有墨庄诗文集及凤箫楼集，《杭州府志》亦作曲，著有芙蓉峡传奇，《曲录》并传于世。她是进士林纶之女，监察御史钱肇修之室。与其姑顾玉蕊，均工诗文骈体。玉蕊曾集合当地能诗女子，组织蕉园诗社。当时所谓“蕉园五子”。即指以宁及徐灿、柴静仪、朱柔则、钱云仪五人。以宁于归后，继续姑志，重组蕉园七子社。七子为五子中加入张槎云、毛安芳、冯又令、顾启姬，而徐灿、朱柔则不在内。当时七子之名，颇蜚声于西子湖滨。又擅长书画，尤长于墨竹。
Lin Yining is the author of a collection of poems and writings by Mo Zhuang and a collection of Feng Xiao Lou. He also composed music for the “Hangzhou Prefecture Annals” and wrote the legend of Furong Gorge. His “Qu Lu” has been passed down to the world. She is the daughter of Jinshi Lin Lun and the supervisor of the imperial censor Qian Zhaoxiu’s office. Compared to Gu Yurui, he was skilled in both poetry and prose. Yurui once gathered local poetic women and organized the Jiaoyuan Poetry Society. At that time, it was called the “Five Sons of the Banana Garden”. It refers to the five individuals of Yining, Xu Can, Chai Jingyi, Zhu Rouze, and Qian Yunyi. After returning home, Ning continued to pursue her aspirations and reorganized the Seven Sons Society of Jiaoyuan. Among the seven sons, Zhang Chanyun, Mao Anfang, Feng Youling, and Gu Qiji were added, while Xu Can and Zhu Rou were not included. At that time, the name of the Seven Sons was quite famous by the West Lake. He is also skilled in calligraphy and painting, especially in ink and bamboo.
Remembering Father Yudu “is a poem written by the Qing Dynasty female poet Lin Yining, which deeply recalls and mourns her father. The entire poem expresses the poet’s deep nostalgia and endless grief for his father through delicate brushstrokes and vivid imagery.
林以宁·《忆父禹都》
晓登百尺楼，遥望中条山。
天际有白云，日夕自往还。
去来何寥邈，引领难追攀。
谁云生女好，少长违亲颜。
岂不眷庭闱，安能事閒关。
问寝久疏阔，视膳良以艰。
回步循南陔，踯躅泪汍澜。
Thinking of My Father, Yudu
Lin Yining
At dawn I climb a hundred-foot tower
To look out at the central massif in the distance.
At the edge of the sky are white clouds
That day and night leave and return as they will.
Going or coming, they remain remote and aloof;
I lean out to them, but cannot catch and hold them.
Who said giving birth to daughters is good?
Child and adult, I have rarely seen my parent’s face.
Is it right not to care for one’s parents?
Yet how can I serve him in his later years?
I want to ask him, “Have you rested well?”
But we’ve been far apart so long.
I want to see that his food is nourishing,
But truly it is impossible.（1）
Walking back by way of South Rise, （2）
My steps are halting but my tears come rushing.
（1）. The opening of the poem echoes poem 110 of the Book of Odes, in which a soldier son is worried about his father: “I climb that tree-covered hill / and look out toward my father.” In this context, white clouds connote thoughts of parents who are far away.
（2）. South Rise, Nan’gai, a place name, is also the title of a song in the Book of Odes, one of the six songs for which the text is lost. According to the Han dynasty commentary, the song was about filial sons who spoke to each other about their responsibility to their parents.
（Maureen Robertson 译）
