Tang Children’s Song - Li He
/唐儿歌 - 李贺/
A Child’s Glee in Springtime Dreamscapes
唐儿歌
弦破琵琶夜未央，
Late into the night, pipa strings break mid-tune.
绿衣童子逐春阳。
A boy in green robes chases after the spring sun.
红尘不晓天公意，
Unaware of Heaven’s designs in the dusty world,
但舞尘沙梦汉唐。
He merely dances through drifting sand, dreaming of Han and Tang.
弦破琵琶夜未央，
Late into the night, pipa strings break mid-tune.
绿衣童子逐春阳。
A boy in green robes chases after the spring sun.
红尘不晓天公意，
Unaware of Heaven’s designs in the dusty world,
但舞尘沙梦汉唐。
He merely dances through drifting sand, dreaming of Han and Tang.
Although many of Li He’s most famous poems explore cosmic mysteries, martial energies, and wistful yearnings, “Tang Children’s Song” (《唐儿歌》) adopts a simpler, more playful perspective—if still tinged by the poet’s trademark sense of wistfulness. In these four lines, we see a child roaming freely, heedless of cosmic or imperial concerns, lost in his own energetic pursuit of spring.
**Line by Line:**
1. **Late-night broken strings**: The poem opens with the abrupt snap of a pipa (a Chinese lute) string. This small detail evokes a moment of fleeting interruption—symbolic of life’s unpredictability or the fragility of joy.
2. **Chasing springtime sun**: We meet a child in green robes, underscoring freshness and innocence. His pursuit of the sun suggests boundless optimism and an unquenchable thirst for life.
3. **Oblivious to higher plans**: The child’s exuberance continues ‘unaware of Heaven’s designs.’ Li He often wrote of cosmic or imperial forces looming large; here, the child is joyfully free from such burdens.
4. **Dancing in dreams**: The poem’s conclusion merges playful imagery with the dust of worldly existence—‘drifting sand.’ Even so, the child’s imagination leaps back to earlier ages (‘Han and Tang’), capturing how children’s dreams can span space and time, uniting the immediate present with an expansive cultural memory.
**Stylistic Notes:**
- **Compression & Contrast**: Typical of Li He, the poem is concise yet layered. Delicate allusions to music (broken pipa strings) and dynastic grandeur (Han and Tang) create a sweeping arc in very few words.
- **Fusion of Earthly and Mythic**: Although less overtly cosmic than his martial or dreamlike poems, “Tang Children’s Song” still hints at a bigger universe. The mention of Heaven’s unknown plans echoes Li He’s broader fascination with forces beyond human control.
- **Youthful Tone**: The innocence of the ‘boy in green’ stands in gentle contrast to the heavier themes often found in Li He’s work. Here, hope and curiosity replace the poet’s usual martial or celestial tensions.
**Relevance for Modern Readers:**
Even centuries later, the childlike wonder at nature and tradition resonates. The poem reminds us that, despite life’s uncertainties and the weight of history, curiosity and joy persist. The child’s dance through drifting dust suggests how imagination can momentarily transcend worldly cares—an affirmation that, at times, youth’s unguarded delight can be as potent a force as any emperor’s decree or mythic blade.
Key points
• Showcases Li He’s ability to craft a poem of gentler tone, focusing on a child’s perspective.
• Continues Li He’s hallmark style of allusive brevity, weaving cultural and historical undercurrents.
• Contrasts the child’s carefree world with the broader cosmic or imperial concerns in many of Li He’s works.
• Reminds us that youthful wonder, however fleeting, can illuminate even a dust-laden world.
