Poetic Thoughts on Ancient Sites II
- Poetry of Du Fu

《咏怀古迹之二》

- Last updated: 2024-05-08 20:00:03

中文原文

摇落深知宋玉悲，风流儒雅亦吾师。

怅望千秋一洒泪，萧条异代不同时。

江山故宅空文藻，云雨荒台岂梦思。

最是楚宫俱泯灭，舟人指点到今疑。

English Translation

"Decay and decline": deep knowledge have I of Sung Yu's grief.

Romantic and refined, he too is my teacher.

Sadly looking across a thousand autumns, one shower of tears,

Melancholy in different epochs, not at the same time.

Among rivers and mountains his old abode -- empty his writings;

Deserted terrace of cloud and rain -- surely not just imagined in a dream?

Utterly the palaces of Chu are all destroyed and ruined,

The fishermen pointing them out today are unsure.

Seven-character-regular-verse

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