Matchmaker Oracle · Lot 11

Source: Classical poem (author uncertain)

What it means

Long apart and lonely, yet still gazing across the distance like the Cowherd and the Weaver.

A long poem: a woman copies sutras on banana leaves, grows thin with illness, has been parted a year, and lies watching the Cowherd and Weaver stars. Long separation and loneliness, yet like those stars, the feeling endures across the distance. Wait patiently and take care of yourself.

Guidance in love

Line by line

1. 自剪芭蕉寫佛經
   Cutting banana leaves to copy sutras
2. 金蓮無復印中庭
   no more lotus footsteps in the courtyard
3. 清風明月長相憶
   in clear wind and bright moon, remembering long
4. 玉管朱弦可要聽
   do you still wish to hear the jade flute and red strings?
5. 多病不勝衣更薄
   Too ill to bear thinner robes
6. 宿粧猶在酒初醒
   last night's makeup still on, just sobered
7. 隔年違別成何事
   why this year-long parting?
8. 臥看牽牛織女星
   Lying, I watch the Cowherd and the Weaver.

Original context

Author uncertain. The Cowherd and Weaver stars allude to the lovers who meet once a year, expressing long separation and longing.

Text: the 100-lot Matchmaker (Yue Lao) oracle used in Taiwan. Most lots quote classical texts; sources were checked against the originals, obvious copying errors corrected, and uncertain sources marked as such.