Mountain Travel
- Poetry of Du Mu

《山行》

- Last updated: 2024-03-31 22:26:42

中文原文

远上寒山石径斜，白云生处有人家。

停车坐爱枫林晚，霜叶红于二月花。

English Translation

Far away on the cold mountain, a stone path slants upwards,

In the white clouds is a village, where people have their homes.

I stop the carriage, loving the maple wood in the evening,

The frosted leaves are redder than the second month's flowers.

By Du Mu

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