柳如是（1618年～1664年），明末清初女诗人，本名杨爱，字如是，又称河东君，因读宋朝辛弃疾《贺新郎》中：“我见青山多妩媚，料青山见我应如是”，故自号如是。与马湘兰、卞玉京、李香君、董小宛、顾横波、寇白门、陈圆圆同称“秦淮八艳”。柳如是是明清易代之际的著名歌妓才女，幼即聪慧好学，但由于家贫，从小就被掠卖到吴江为婢，妙龄时坠入章台，改名为柳隐，在乱世风尘中往来于江浙、金陵之间。留下的作品主要有《湖上草》《戊寅草》与《尺牍》。
Liu Rushi (1618-1664) was a female poet from the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. Her real name was Yang Ai, and her courtesy name was Rushi. She was also known as Hedong Jun, because she read the poem “Congratulations to the Groom” by Xin Qiji from the Song Dynasty: “I see many charming green mountains, and I expect them to be like this when they see me. Along with Ma Xianglan, Bian Yujing, Li Xiangjun, Dong Xiaowan, Gu Shiqiao, Kou Baimen, and Chen Yuanyuan, they are collectively known as the “Eight Beauties of Qinhuai”. Liu Rushi was a famous courtesan and talented woman during the transition of the Ming and Qing dynasties. She was intelligent and eager to learn from a young age, but due to poverty, she was sold as a maid in Wujiang from a young age. In her youth, she fell into Zhangtai and changed her name to Liu Yin. She traveled between Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Jinling in turbulent times. The remaining works mainly include “Grass on the Lake,” “Grass in the Woods,” and “Letters.
Dream of Jiangnan · Huai Ren · Its Thirteen “is a poem created by Liu Rushi, full of romantic and mysterious imagery. Through delicate brushstrokes, it portrays the poet’s reminiscence and melancholy of past emotions.
柳如是·《梦江南·怀人·其十三》
人何在，
人在月明中。
半夜夺他金扼臂，
殢人还复看芙蓉。
心事好朦胧。
Dream of the South:
Thinking of Someone
Liu Rushi
XIII
Where was he?
In the moonlight.
In the middle of the night, I clutched his priceless arm,
Lethargic, I looked at the lotus flowers again and again,
My inner sentiments, how hazy!
（Kang-I Sun Chang 译）
