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Jìn Shì Shàng Zhāng Shuǐ BùBefore the Exam, for Zhang Ji 近试上张水部

Zhu Qingyu (朱庆余, also known as Chu Ch'ing-yü)｜Mid Tang｜seven-character quatrain

Before the exam, Zhu Qingyu casts himself as a bride asking if her make-up suits.

Original Chinese text with pinyin

洞房昨夜停红烛
dòng fáng zuó yè tíng hóng zhú

待晓堂前拜舅姑
dài xiǎo táng qián bài jiù gū

粧罢低声问夫壻
zhuāng bà dī shēng wèn fū xù

画眉深浅入时无
huà méi shēn qiǎn rù shí wú

Simplified characters; traditional title: 近試上張水部.

Last night in the bridal chamber the red candles burned;

at dawn she will bow to her in-laws in the hall.

Her make-up done, she quietly asks her husband:

"Are my brows painted dark enough for today's taste?"

Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.

洞房昨夜停红烛 · dòng fáng zuó yè tíng hóng zhú — Last night in the bridal chamber the red candles burned;

待晓堂前拜舅姑 · dài xiǎo táng qián bài jiù gū — at dawn she will bow to her in-laws in the hall.

粧罢低声问夫壻 · zhuāng bà dī shēng wèn fū xù — Her make-up done, she quietly asks her husband:

画眉深浅入时无 · huà méi shēn qiǎn rù shí wú — "Are my brows painted dark enough for today's taste?"

Before the exam, Zhu Qingyu casts himself as a bride asking if her make-up suits. The scene stays with you.

Before the exam, Zhu Qingyu casts himself as a bride asking if her make-up suits.

Zhu Qingyu's exam-eve poem is a witty allegory of seeking approval.

Lifetime: Mid Tang. Other famous works: Before the Exam, for Zhang Ji (近试上张水部).