To My Sons
- Poetry of Chen Jiru

《闲居书付儿辈》

中文原文( Chinese )

有儿事足，一把茅遮屋。

若使薄田耕不熟，添个新生黄犊。

闲来也教儿孙，读书不为功名。

种竹，浇花，酿酒；世家闭户先生。

English Translation

Life is complete

With children at your feet;

Just a handful of hay hides your cot.

If land is sterile,

A young calf will surely help a lot.

Teach thy sons to read, too, in spare hours,

Not for fame nor for Mandarin collars.

Brew your wine, plant bamboos, water flowers,

Thus a house for generations of scholars.

By Chen Jiru

- Last updated: 2024-06-26 11:15:17

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