Li Po (李白), also Romanized as Li Bai, Li Bo, and Li Pai, was a Chinese poet of the Tang Dynasty likely born in 701.
清平调词
（三首其二）
一枝红艳露凝香，
云雨巫山枉断肠。
借问汉宫谁得似？
可怜飞燕[1]倚新妆[2]。
第二首第一句再把美人比花，不但写色，而且写香。然后从时间上来比，先比作楚襄王为之断肠的、朝为行云暮为雨的巫山神女，后比作汉成帝的宠妃，能做掌上舞的赵飞燕。不过飞燕倚仗新妆，杨妃却是天姿国色，这样借古喻今，又是抑古扬今了。
注释：
[1]飞燕：指西汉皇后赵飞燕。
[2]妆：梳妆打扮。
The Beautiful Lady Yang
(II)
She is a peony sweetened by dew impearled,
Far fairer than the Goddess[1]bringing showers in dreams.
Who could equal her in palace of ancient world?
Not e’en the newly-dressed“Flying Swallow”[2],it seems.
注释：
[1]The legend said that the king of a Southern Kingdom dreamed of the Goddess of Wushan Mountains with whom he made love and who would come out in the morning in the form of a cloud and in the evening in the form of a shower.
[2]“Flying Swallow”was the favorite concubine of Han Emperor Chengdi(reigned 32–6 B.C.)
The first sentence of the second poem again compares the beauty to flowers, not only describing the color, but also the fragrance. Then it compares the beauty to the goddess of Wushan Mountain, who moved like clouds in the morning and rain in the evening, and the favorite concubine of Emperor Cheng of Han, Zhao Feiyan, who could dance on the palm of her hand. However, Feiyan relied on her new makeup, while Concubine Yang was a natural beauty. This is to use the past to illustrate the present, which is to suppress the past and promote the present.
