Text

烟笼寒水月笼沙
yān lóng hán shuǐ yuè lóng shā
夜泊秦淮近酒家
yè bó qín huái jìn jiǔ jiā
商女不知亡国恨
shāng nǚ bù zhī wáng guó hèn
隔江犹唱后庭花
gé jiāng yóu chàng hòu tíng huā

Notes

  • 秦淮: Qinhuai, the name of a river, originating in Suzhou, flowing through Nanjing and into the Yangtze
  • 烟: literally smoke, but here alludes to fog so thick it is like smoke
  • 笼, 笼罩 lǒnɡzhào: to envelop
  • 商女: singing women at restaurants/inns
  • 亡国 wánɡɡuó: literary fallen nation
  • 恨, 悔恨 huǐhèn: be bitterly remorseful
  • 犹 yóu: literary 1. as if, 2. still
  • 后庭花: refers to the song 《玉树后庭花》, written during the last reign of the Southern Dynasties, represents the fall of a country