About the poet: Bai Juyi, courtesy name Letian (Chinese: 樂天), was a renowned Chinese poet and Tang dynasty government official. Many of his poems concern his career or observations made about everyday life, including as governor of three different provinces. He was one of the most prolific of all Chinese poets, but is best known for his short occasional verses written in simple language.
English translation:
The bloom is not a bloom, the mist not mist,
At midnight she comes, and goes again at dawn.
She comes like a spring dream- how long will she stay?
She goes like morning cloud, without a trace.
Title and Meaning: The title is simply the first 3 words of the poem itself which is close to being entitled "Untitled". I have translated these 3 words 花非花 literally as "Flower No Flower". On the face of it, the poem is a riddle, and the answer clearly is 露 "dew" which is: like but not flower, like but not mist, comes at night, leaves in the morning, stays but briefly, and cannot be found when gone. The ambiguity lies not in the riddle itself but in the rich imagery of the poem ("flower", "mist", "dream of spring", "clouds") and the answer to the riddle ("dew"), all subtly suggestive of sensual and sexual love. It is, therefore, safe to say this is a love poem in which the poet expresses his yearning for a lady he loves and misses. And from line 2 (come at midnight and gone by daylight), it is perhaps also safe to say that the lady concerned is a courtesan for officials 官妓 (one class lower than courtesans in the palace 宮女 and one class higher than the "comfort ladies" for soldiers 營妓, all in the employ of the government in the Tang dynasty), the poet being an official. Courtesans for officials were assigned to perform or accompany officials at banquets and/or to serve them at night.