qīng清píng平diào调·qí其sān三

There are three Qing Ping Tunes, and this is the third. They are usually dated to a spring in the early Tianbao years, one view says 743. Li Bai was then a court writer in Chang'an, someone who stayed near the emperor to write poems. The peonies by Chenxiang Pavilion were in bloom. Emperor Xuanzong and Lady Yang came to enjoy them, and the emperor sent for Li Bai to write new songs. Li Bai quickly wrote these three, and the court musicians sang them.

《清平调》共三首，这是第三首。一般认为写于唐玄宗天宝初年（一说天宝二年，743年）的春天。当时李白在长安做翰林供奉，就是陪在皇帝身边写诗文的人。宫中沉香亭前的牡丹开了，唐玄宗和杨贵妃一起赏花，让人把李白叫来写新词。李白很快写成了这三首，由乐师配曲演唱。

Li Bai (701–762) was a great Tang poet, called the Immortal of Poetry. In his forties he was called to Chang'an to write poems for the emperor and became very famous, but he left after less than three years. These three Qing Ping Tunes are his best-known works from the palace, rich in color and light in step.

李白（701—762），唐代大诗人，被称为“诗仙”。他四十多岁时被召到长安，在皇帝身边写诗，名气很大，但不到三年就离开了。这三首《清平调》是他在宫中最有名的作品，写得华丽又轻快。

The first two songs say the flower is like the lady and the lady is like the flower. This one puts the flower, the lady and the emperor together. The first line says the peony and the beauty both bring joy; you cannot tell which is lovelier. The second line shows the emperor watching them, a smile always on his face. The third line says that with such flowers and such a lady, any worry of spring melts away. The last line stops on one picture: north of the pavilion, the lady leans lightly on the railing. The poem ends there and says no more. It leaves a calm, bright scene of flower viewing in the palace for us to imagine.

前两首写花像人、人像花，这一首把花、美人和君王放在一起。第一句说牡丹和美人“两相欢”，分不清哪个更美。第二句写君王看着她们，脸上一直带着笑。第三句说，有了这样的花和人，春天里再多的烦恼也能化开。最后一句收在一个画面上：沉香亭北边，美人轻轻靠着栏杆。诗到这里就停了，不再多说，留下一幅安静、明丽的宫中赏花图，让人自己去想。