The Mermaid’s Tears Turn to Pearls

Pearls of the South Sea

Southern sea folk weep pearls and weave water-silk, source of the poetic image of neglected genius.

The mermaid folk of the southern sea were said to weave garments of water-silk and weep tears that hardened into luminous pearls, each as round and bright as the moon. Li Shangyin’s line “in the green sea, under a bright moon, pearls have tears” drew on the image, and the mermaid’s weeping became poetry’s way of saying that the rarest beauty is born of sorrow.