Expressing My Grief

When entering her bedroom,
I inhale sadness.
I climb behind her phoenix bed-curtains,
Yet they hang to no avail.
The romance of the spring breeze and autumn moon all ends here.
Summer days and winter nights spent with her will never come again.

— Qianlong Emperor (1711-1799) expressing his grief over the death of his beloved wife, Empress Xiaoxianchun (1712-1748)