Song of Everlasting Sorrow (opening)
白居易
汉皇重色思倾国
御宇多年求不得
杨家有女初长成
养在深闺人未识
hàn huáng zhòng sè sī qīng guó
yù yǔ duō nián qiú bù dé
yáng jiā yǒu nǚ chū zhǎng chéng
yǎng zài shēn guī rén wèi shí
汉皇重色思倾国，御宇多年求不得。杨家有女初长成，养在深闺人未识。
Opening of Bai Juyi’s epic—desire, power, and love entwined.
白居易《长恨歌》：汉皇重色——爱情与权力互相消耗，长恨是结构，不只是苦情。可与《琵琶行》并读：一个宫廷长线，一个江湖夜遇。今日：欲望被制度放大时，个人情也成了公共悲剧。
Bai Juyi’s Song of Everlasting Regret: desire and power spend each other—everlasting regret is structure, not only pathos. Pair with Pipa Song: palace long-arc vs riverside night. Today: when systems amplify desire, private love becomes public tragedy.
宏大叙事常从「求不得」起笔——欲望驱动历史。
Grand stories often start with “could not obtain”—desire drives history.
Read first, then practice — fill in lines and write a character.
Fill in the blanks
Practice calligraphy