Out of Sight: A Sharp Shock of Loneliness
The lonely woman image built into a fake-out poem
Out of Sight
Wang Xun
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The sun dips on a perfect springtime dusk,
The dawn breeze is soft on the palace park,
A wine cup in her hand, her shutters wide,
She leans out to indulge in sultry night,
Where stone bridges, threaded by nimble streams,
Meet bamboo trails under a deep blue sky.
"I don't know why you're here, to look at me,
My waist so thin from years of misery."
Out of Sight was a title used by many poets, all writing on the theme of a woman missing her husband who has been away for many years. This may be because he loves another, or is away at war, or has gone to work for the emperor. Only one poem with this title was judged good enough to be included in the 300 Tang Poems, but the Complete Tang Poems includes nine with this title, and they form a fascinating series, dating back to the 6th century, before the beginning of the Tang.
Often, the title of a poem gave name of the tune to which it should be sung. However, that doesn't seem to be the case for Out of Sight: some of the poems are very short, while others are medium length; some use short lines, others long. Instead, the poems are linked by two themes: the loneliness of a woman whose husband is away, and rich lifestyles. Both themes are brought out most clearly by Shen Quanqi in the single Out of Sight poem collected in the 300 Tang Poems.
Wang Xun (511-536) also lived before the Tang Dynasty. Here he was writing in a style common to his period: the fake-out poem. The poet builds up an image and mood in the first part of the poem using classical language and allusions, then suddenly undercuts it at the end with colloquial wording and a deflating message. This sudden turn is even more dramatic than the shift in tone in Liu Yun's original Out of Sight.
In this poem, the first six lines paint a deeply romantic picture; the last two lines suddenly change tone and reveal our young lady to be not a lover or a dancing girl, but a wife who has been left behind.
None of this is explicit: Wang was relying on his readers having heard Out of Sight poems before to understand what was going on.
王训 独不见
日晚宜春暮，风软上林朝。
对酒近初节，开楼荡夜娇。
石桥通小涧，竹路上青霄。
持底谁见许，长愁成细腰。