Shi Dazu

The poet Shi Dazu wrote this piece in the Southern Song Dynasty. The first piece is about enjoying plum blossoms under the moon on the stream, and the spring moon breaks the dusk with a sense of dynamism, turning stillness into movement, which is interesting.

双双燕[1] 史达祖 过春社[2]了，度帘幕中间，去年尘冷[3]。差池[4]欲住，试入旧巢相并。还相[5]雕梁[6]藻井[7]，又软语商量不定。飘然快拂花梢，翠尾分开红影。芳径，芹泥[8]雨润。爱贴地争飞，竞夸轻俊。红楼归晚，看足柳昏花暝。应自栖香[9]正稳，便忘了、天涯芳信。愁损翠黛双蛾，日日画阑独凭。 注释：[1]双双燕：此曲是周邦彦首制，因为调即是题，故不再有标题，有版本标《咏燕》为题。[2]春社：春分前后祭祀土地神以祈祷丰收的日子，燕子每每在春社日归来。[3]尘冷：指燕子旧巢尘封已久，比较冷清。[4]差池：燕子飞行时，有前有后，燕羽参差不齐的样子。[5]相：仔细端详。[6]雕梁：雕有或绘有图案的屋梁。[7]藻井：绘有花纹的天花板，形状似井栏，故称藻井。[8]芹泥：燕子用以筑巢的泥，里面有时含有植物纤维，以加固燕巢。杜甫有《徐步》诗：“芹泥随燕嘴。”[9]栖香：栖息于香巢。 A Pair of Swallows Shi Dazu Spring's growing old.Between the curtain and the screenThe dust in last year's nest is cold.A pair of swallows bank and halt to seeIf they can perch there side by side.Looking at painted ceiling and carved beamsAnd twittering, they can't decide,It seems.Clipping the tips of blooming tree,They shedThe shadow of their forked tails so greenAnd cleave their way through flowers red.Along the fragrant wayWhere rain has wetted clods of clay,They like to skim over the ground,Striving to be fleetIn flight.Returning late to mansion sweet,They've gazed their fill, till in twilightDim willows are drowned,And flowers fall asleep.Now they'd be perching deepIn fragrant nest,Forgetting to bring message from the end of the sky.Grieved, with eyebrows knit, the lady's seen to restHer elbow on the painted balustrade and sigh. Notes：This lyric describes the swallows in pair and contrasts them with the lonely poet.

"Universal Joy · My White Hair" is a lyric written by Shi Dazu, a lyricist of the Southern Song Dynasty.

This lyric to spring rain reveals the poet's grief in spring.