Wang Changling conjures pure romance

And a drunken bawdy

Picking Water Lilies (1)
Wang Changling

Nymphs from Wu, vixens of Yue, Chu princesses!
Scramble aboard the lotus boats, drenching their pretty dresses.
The flowers part to let them in at the mouth of the stream, 
And when the plucking’s done, the river moonlight sees them home.


Picking Water Lilies (2)
Wang Changling

When she enters the water lily pond—
The leaves match her silk of green,
Moonflowers open to her bright face,
She can’t be seen,
She melts away.
Only the singing from her boat
Reveals that she is drawing close.

王昌龄  采莲曲二首·其一
吴姬越艳楚王妃，争弄莲舟水湿衣。
来时浦口花迎入，采罢江头月送归。
王昌龄  采莲曲二首·其二
荷叶罗裙一色裁，芙蓉向脸两边开。
乱入池中看不见，闻歌始觉有人来。

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Picking Water Lilies was a popular tune and a popular topic for romantic poetry. In autumn, young women would go out on light boats to gather the beautiful, pure white flowers; if they were lucky, they might see and be seen by some gallant young man. Or so goes the trope - it’s not clear how often this idealised harvest actually happened.

Li Bai’s version of this poem is a minor classic, as is the second poem written with this title by his contemporary Wang Changling (698-756). But the first lily-picking poem by Wang is a piece of fairly explicit smut. It describes a night of brothel entertainment, followed by the traditional moonlit walk of shame. I include it here more for interest and completeness than for its quality. (Du Mu has a very similar pairing.)

Wang’s second attempt at the same topic is a lovely depiction of young romance, powered by a metaphor that Wang refuses to make explicit. The maid in green is so like the water lilies that she is hidden among them; but she too desires to be picked, and her art helps her to find the lover who must be waiting for her.