A Song of White Snow in Farewell to Field-clerk Wu Going Home
- Poetry of Cen Shen

《白雪歌送武判官归京》

- Last updated: 2024-03-28 11:57:13

A Song of White Snow in Farewell to Field-clerk Wu Going Home by Cen Shen
中文原文

北风卷地白草折，胡天八月即飞雪。

忽如一夜春风来，千树万树梨花开。

散入珠帘湿罗幕，狐裘不暖锦衾薄。

将军角弓不得控，都护铁衣冷难着。

瀚海阑干百丈冰，愁云惨淡万里凝。

中军置酒饮归客，胡琴琵琶与羌笛。

纷纷暮雪下辕门，风掣红旗冻不翻。

轮台东门送君去，去时雪满天山路。

山回路转不见君，雪上空留马行处。

English Translation

The north wind rolls the white grasses and breaks them;

And the Eighth-month snow across the Tartar sky

Is like a spring gale, come up in the night,

Blowing open the petals of ten thousand peartrees.

It enters the pearl blinds, it wets the silk curtains;

A fur coat feels cold, a cotton mat flimsy;

Bows become rigid, can hardly be drawn

And the metal of armour congeals on the men;

The sand-sea deepens with fathomless ice,

And darkness masses its endless clouds;

But we drink to our guest bound home from camp,

And play him barbarian lutes, guitars, harps;

Till at dusk, when the drifts are crushing our tents

And our frozen red flags cannot flutter in the wind,

We watch him through Wheel-Tower Gate going eastward.

Into the snow-mounds of Heaven-Peak Road....

And then he disappears at the turn of the pass,

Leaving behind him only hoof-prints.

Seven-character-ancient-verse

· Pre： A Song of Wheel Tower in Farewell to General Feng of the Western Expedition
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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