徐灿（约1618－1698），字湘苹，又字明深、明霞，号深明，又号紫言（竹字头）。江南吴县（今苏州市西南）人。明末清初女词人、诗人、书画家，为“蕉园五子”之一。光禄丞徐子懋女，弘文院大学士海宁陈之遴继妻。从夫宦游，封一品夫人。工诗，尤长于词学。她的词多抒发故国之思、兴亡之感。又善属文、精书画、所画仕女设色淡雅、笔法古秀、工净有度、得北宋人法，晚年画水墨观音、间作花草。著有《拙政园诗馀》三卷，诗集《拙政园诗集》二卷，凡诗二百四十六首，今皆存。
Xu Can (approximately 1618-1698), also known as Xiangping, Mingshen, Mingxia, Shenming, and Ziyan (starting with bamboo). He was born in Wu County, Jiangnan (now southwest of Suzhou City). During the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, she was a female poet, calligrapher, and painter, and one of the “Five Sons of Jiaoyuan”. Xu Zimao, the daughter of Guanglu Cheng, was the stepwife of Haining Chen Zhilin, a Grand Secretary of the Hongwen Academy. From the husband’s official travel, granted the title of First Class Lady. Gongshi is particularly skilled in ci studies. Her words often express her thoughts and feelings of the rise and fall of her homeland. He is also skilled in literature, fine calligraphy and painting, with elegant colors and graceful brushstrokes for his paintings of ladies. His brushwork is ancient and elegant, with a clean and moderate style, and he has learned the techniques of the Northern Song Dynasty. In his later years, he painted ink wash Guanyin and interspersed flowers and plants. He wrote three volumes of “Miscellaneous Poems in Humble Administrator’s Garden” and two volumes of poetry collection “Humble Administrator’s Garden Poetry Collection”, with 246 poems, all of which are still preserved today.
徐灿·《菩萨蛮·春闺》
困花压蕊丝丝雨，
不堪袛共愁人语。
斗帐抱春寒，
梦中何处山。
帘卷风意恶，
泪与残红落。
羡煞是杨花，
输它先到家。
Pusa man:
Spring Boudoir
The flossy rain vexes the flowers and weighs down the buds;
Unable to bear it, they speak to the sad one.
The funnel-like bed curtains wrap a spring chill in;
Where lie the hills in my dream?
Furling the curtains, the wind blows with an ill will;
Tears fall with dying blossoms.
I envy the willow catkins so
They’ll reach home before I do.
