Brightly Shines
- Poetry of Anonymous

《明月皎夜光》
Brightly Shines by Anonymous
中文原文( Chinese )

明月皎夜光，促织鸣东壁。

玉衡指孟冬，众星何历历。

白露沾野草，时节忽复易。

秋蝉鸣树间，玄鸟逝安适？

昔我同门友，高举振六翮。

不念携手好，弃我如遗迹。

南箕北有斗，牵牛不负轭。

良无盘石固，虚名复何益？

English Translation

Brightly shines the clear full moon at night;

Sadly chirp the crickets out of sight.

When the Plough toward the northwest lies,

The myriad stars illuminate the skies.

Wet dews and frost linger on the wild grass;

How fast the months and seasons change and pass!

While cicadas chirr on autumn trees,

Where do the swallows fly to seek their ease?


My fellow students in the former years 

Have achieved success in their careers.

They treasure not our friendship in their mind,

But forget about me and leave me behind.

In the skies wink the Winnow and Ladle Stars;

The Cowherd Star ne'er draws the traveller's cars.

If words of faith cannot be firm as rock,

What's the use of empty names in stock!

Anonymous

- Last updated: 2024-08-11 11:31:55
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Why Chinese poems is so special?
The most distinctive features of Chinese poetry are: concision- many poems are only four lines, and few are much longer than eight; ambiguity- number, tense and parts of speech are often undetermined, creating particularly rich interpretative possibilities; and structure- most poems follow quite strict formal patterns which have beauty in themselves as well as highlighting meaningful contrasts.
How to read a Chinese poem?
Like an English poem, but more so. Everything is there for a reason, so try to find that reason. Think about all the possible connotations, and be aware of the different possibilities of number and tense. Look for contrasts: within lines, between the lines of each couplet and between successive couplets. Above all, don't worry about what the poet meant- find your meaning.

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