Tune: Song of Great Virtue
- Poetry of Guan Hanqing

《大德歌·秋》

中文原文( Chinese )

风飘飘，雨潇潇，便做陈抟睡不着。

懊恼伤怀抱，扑簌簌泪点抛。

秋蝉儿噪罢寒蛩儿叫，淅零零细雨打芭蕉。

English Translation

The wind soughs hour after hour;

The rain falls shower by shower.

Even the Sleeping God cannot fall asleep.

Regret and sorrow hurt me deep,

My tears drip drop by drop,

After cicadas trill crickets chirp without stop.

It further grieves

To hear rain drizzle on banana leaves.

By Guan Hanqing

- Last updated: 2024-07-16 11:07:04

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