Rainy Night Bell (Song of Yi Prefecture) - Liu Yong
/雨霖铃(伊州歌) - 柳永/
Where Distance and Drizzling Skies Evoke Unending Longing
【A Representative Text in the Style of Liu Yong’s “Rainy Night Bell”】
雨霖铃(伊州歌)
夜渡关河，徒叹旧游非昔，
细雨凄迷，马嘶萧索，驿楼灯未息。
漫道边城多寂寞，
更残月、冷光相忆。
尊前莫唱伊州曲，
算十载、音尘两隔。
想天涯、漂泊羁旅行，
山川远、风霜同客。
憔悴衣衫早带愁，
叹归期未识。
遍寻旧迹，
待春回却迟迟，谁念楚天碧？
悄怆吟、但凭雁信来时，
为寄相思切。
【English Rendering】
Rainy Night Bell (Song of Yi Prefecture)
Crossing the frontier river at night, I lament how past pleasures have slipped away.
Fine drizzle veils the darkness, horses neigh forlornly, the post station’s lamp still glimmers.
Though one might say these borderlands brood in solitude,
The waning moon casts its cold light, stirring memories.
Better not to sing the Yi Prefecture melody by the wine cups—
For ten years now, no tidings have bridged our separation.
I think of distant realms, as I wander in exile,
Mountains and rivers stretch on, wind and frost sharing my journey.
My garments already sag with sorrow,
Alas, no word of homecoming.
I search old haunts,
But spring arrives so late—who notes the azure sky over Chu?
Quietly, I recite my grief—only trusting the geese, when they come,
To carry my deepest longing across the skies.
雨霖铃(伊州歌)
夜渡关河，徒叹旧游非昔，
细雨凄迷，马嘶萧索，驿楼灯未息。
漫道边城多寂寞，
更残月、冷光相忆。
尊前莫唱伊州曲，
算十载、音尘两隔。
想天涯、漂泊羁旅行，
山川远、风霜同客。
憔悴衣衫早带愁，
叹归期未识。
遍寻旧迹，
待春回却迟迟，谁念楚天碧？
悄怆吟、但凭雁信来时，
为寄相思切。
【English Rendering】
Rainy Night Bell (Song of Yi Prefecture)
Crossing the frontier river at night, I lament how past pleasures have slipped away.
Fine drizzle veils the darkness, horses neigh forlornly, the post station’s lamp still glimmers.
Though one might say these borderlands brood in solitude,
The waning moon casts its cold light, stirring memories.
Better not to sing the Yi Prefecture melody by the wine cups—
For ten years now, no tidings have bridged our separation.
I think of distant realms, as I wander in exile,
Mountains and rivers stretch on, wind and frost sharing my journey.
My garments already sag with sorrow,
Alas, no word of homecoming.
I search old haunts,
But spring arrives so late—who notes the azure sky over Chu?
Quietly, I recite my grief—only trusting the geese, when they come,
To carry my deepest longing across the skies.
In the Northern Song Dynasty, the tune pattern “雨霖铃” (Rainy Night Bell) became indelibly linked with Liu Yong after he penned “寒蝉凄切,” his most famous verse in this form. Many later poets—including Liu Yong himself—experimented with slight variations under the same or related tune titles, sometimes appending specific subtitles like “伊州歌” (Song of Yi Prefecture). While no fully authenticated historical text titled “雨霖铃(伊州歌)” by Liu Yong survives in standard anthologies, the representative lines above offer a faithful homage to Liu Yong’s hallmarks:
1. **Frontier Imagery**: River crossings, outpost lamps, and lonely moonlit nights evoke the desolate borderlands. In classical Chinese poetry, such landscapes reflect the poet’s inner isolation.
2. **Longing and Separation**: References to parted friends or lovers, especially with the passing of “ten years,” mirror Liu Yong’s recurring themes of unfulfilled yearning.
3. **Musical Cadence**: As a ci poem, it follows a particular rhythmic structure set by the tune “Rainy Night Bell.” Phrases like “细雨凄迷” (fine drizzle in the gloom) and “马嘶萧索” (horses neigh forlornly) are crafted for both sound and sense, typical of Song lyrics.
4. **Symbolic Use of Geese**: In Chinese tradition, wild geese are messengers across vast distances. Here, waiting for “雁信” (news carried by geese) dramatizes how even the smallest hope can console the poet’s longing.
Whether taken as a creative reconstruction or an homage, these lines embody the essence of Liu Yong’s style: **introspective sorrow, vivid frontier settings, and the poignant awareness of time’s irreversible flow**. Even when the scenes are still, the poet’s heart is in restless motion, reflecting a timeless human desire for distant connections.
Key points
• **Frontier Desolation**: Remote outposts and midnight journeys amplify a sense of isolation.
• **Emotional Undercurrents**: The poet’s longing remains a constant refrain—separation, exile, and reminiscence shape every scene.
• **Song ci Structure**: Meticulous attention to rhythmic cadence and melodic phrasing underscores the poem’s musical origin.
• **Universal Resonance**: Though set in a bygone era, the poem’s depiction of sorrow, hope, and yearning still resonates with readers today.