White Cloud Springs
- Poetry of Bai Juyi

《白云泉》
White Cloud Springs by Bai Juyi
中文原文( Chinese )

天平山上白云泉，云自无心水自闲。

何必奔冲山下去，更添波浪向人间！

English Translation

Heaven is peaceful. Mountains release white clouds,

Which cease all thought. Even the lake is idle.

No need for us to rush back down the hill.

We would only add to the turbulence of the world of men.

It is 826 and Bai Juyi is getting tired of being the governor of Hangzhou. He has recently broken a leg in a fall from a horse. He is about to retire, briefly. Having moved up in the world, life is expensive and none of his early retirements last, even when he sells a house for extra cash. His eyes are getting weaker. But in the end they never fail him. He's beginning to worry about being old and what will happen to his rolls and rolls of poems. He put his collection in a temple for safekeeping eleven years ago. But he's written a lot more since then and will soon prepare another collection of his work for posterity.

- Last updated: 2025-02-22 17:30:44
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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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