Xu Can: Yi Qin e: Spring Sentiments, Following Su’an’s [Chen Zhilin] Rhymes ~ 徐灿·《忆秦娥·春感次素庵》 with English Translations

徐灿，字湘蘋，又字明霞、明深，江苏吴县（今苏州市吴中区、相城区）人。陈之遴继配。幼颖悟，通书史。陈之遴两次流徙，均曾随行。康熙十年（1671），奉旨归之遴之骨。晚年学佛，更号紫?。早年雅好吟咏，尤喜为词。被词人陈维崧誉为南宋后闺秀第一。有《拙政园诗馀》《拙政园诗集》。

Xu Can, also known as Xiangping, Mingxia, and Mingshen, was born in Wu County, Jiangsu Province (now Wuzhong District and Xiangcheng District of Suzhou City). Chen Zhilin succeeded. You Yingwu, a general historian. Chen Zhilin has accompanied him twice during his two migrations. In the tenth year of Kangxi’s reign (1671), he was ordered to return the bones he had collected. In his later years, he studied Buddhism and became known as Zi?. In his early years, he was fond of singing and particularly enjoyed composing poems. She was praised by the poet Chen Weisong as the number one best girl after the Southern Song Dynasty. There are “Poems from Humble Administrator’s Garden” and “Poems from Humble Administrator’s Garden”.

徐灿·《忆秦娥·春感次素庵》

春时节，

昨朝似雨今朝雪。

今朝雪，

半春香暖，

竟成抛撇。

销魂不待君先说，

悽悽似痛还如咽。

还如咽，

旧恩新宠，

晓云流月。

Yi Qin e:

Spring Sentiments, Following Su’an’s [Chen Zhilin] Rhymes

Xu Can

In the season of spring:

Yesterday it looked like rain, but today it snowed.

Today it snowed;

Half a spring of fragrant warmth

Has been cast away.

The wasting of my heart needs no word from you;

Miserable it is, like a pang, and a whimper.

Like a whimper:

Old love, new favor,

Are but dawn clouds and flowing moon.