羅亨信《題畫寄鄔玄中》 “Inscription on a painting for Wu Xuanzhong” by Luo Hengxin (1377-1457)

石橊雨綻珍珠顆，

山鳥風梳翡翠翎。

遙憶故人千里外，

畫圖聊寄別離情。

The rain opens the pomegranate, its seeds like pearls;[1]

The wind combs the mountain bird, its plumes like emerald.

Thinking of my old friend a thousand miles away,[2]

[I] paint this image, if only to send my thoughts on our parting.[3]   

[1] The original word for “pomegranate” here, shiliu, literally reads “stone-pomegranate” and therefore runs parallel to “mountain bird” in the second line. 

[2] Apart from being mentioned in several poems by Luo Hengxin, Wu Xuanzhong is a virtually unknown figure.

[3] The poem suggests that the image depicts a pomegranate and a mountain bird, but the painting itself does not seem to have survived.

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