A Song from Yan
- Poetry of Cao Pi

《燕歌行-其一》
A Song from Yan by Cao Pi
中文原文( Chinese )

秋风萧瑟天气凉，草木摇落露为霜。

群燕辞归鹄南翔，念君客游思断肠。

慊慊思归恋故乡，君何淹留寄他方？

贱妾茕茕守空房，忧来思君不敢忘，不觉泪下沾衣裳。

援琴鸣弦发清商，短歌微吟不能长。

明月皎皎照我床，星汉西流夜未央。

牵牛织女遥相望，尔独何辜限河梁。

English Translation

When it grows cold with chilly autumn breeze,

With fall of leaves,the dews will frost,then freeze.

When swans and swallows fly their southward way,

Thoughts of my wandering man fills me with dismay. 


Now in deepened thoughts for home you stand,

Why do you linger on foreign land?

Day and night I stay at home alone;

Obsessed by thoughts of you here on my own,

Large drops of tears I shed and then I moan.


I play the Clear Shang tunes upon the lute,

Singing somber notes,now audible,now mute.

Upon my bed the bright moon sheds its light 

When the Milky Way points to the west at night.

Woeful is the Cowherd and the Weaver Star!

Why are they just gazing from afar?

Cao Pi was the de facto patron of the Seven Scholars of the Jian'an Period.Besides his achievements in essays and liter ary criticism,he distinguished himself in poems,which are varigated in forms,simple in language and rich in ballad flavour.

- Last updated: 2024-09-03 09:37:21
· Pre： Lamentations Ⅰ
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.

List of Chinese poets

© 2024 CN-Poetry.com Chinese Poems in English