Frost’s Descent

At Frost’s Descent, the blue sky is washed clear and Heaven and Earth lie in stillness; the west wind grows urgent, hastening the affairs of autumn toward their end. At first, a faint sound of cold seems to rise from beneath the earth; by midnight, it enters the leaves of the parasol trees. I rise and look down from the high city walls, turning to gaze across all directions: for a thousand li, passes and rivers lie desolate. Let me drink myself drunk together with you. At dawn, layered drums resound noisily, and mounted riders gallop forth, drawing their carved bows in a magnificent hunting scene.

Ye Mengde sets this *ci* against Frost’s Descent. The first stanza writes the vastness of the autumn landscape and the emergence of cold. “霜降碧天静” describes the broad atmosphere of Frost’s Descent, when the autumn sky is crystalline and Heaven and Earth seem utterly still. The three characters “碧天静”, “blue sky, still,” are extremely concise yet rich in resonance. “秋事促西风” uses the character “促”, “hasten,” to personify the invisible west wind, as though it were urging all autumnal affairs toward completion. “寒声隐地初听” writes the first faint sound of cold emerging from beneath the earth, while “中夜入梧桐” describes that sound entering the parasol leaves in the middle of the night. Parasol leaves are broad and crisp, sounding clearly when wind passes through them, and were an important medium through which ancient poets perceived the voice of autumn. “起瞰高城回望” gives the posture of climbing high and looking into the distance, while “寥落关河千里” writes a thousand li of mountains and rivers lying sparse and desolate in autumn. Although the second stanza is not quoted in full, “飞骑引雕弓” already reveals that even amid autumnal melancholy, the poet retains a vigorous and heroic spirit. The lyric maintains a distinctly Song-dynasty tension between desolation and boldness.