South of the River (Han Yuefu)
- Poetry of Han poetry

《江南》
South of the River (Han Yuefu) by Han poetry
English Translation

South of the river, you can pick lotuses,

How like a field are the lotus leaves!

Fish play in the lotus leaves:

Fish play east of the lotus leaves,

Fish play west of the lotus leaves,

Fish play south of the lotus leaves,

Fish play north of the lotus leaves.

Han Poetry

This is a folk poem that was popular in the Han dynasty (202 BCE to 9 ACE). It was sung as a gentle metaphor for the relations between the sexes, with the men singing one line, and the women singing the next line. “South of the river” means south of the Yangtze, which is a common way of referring to the southern part of the nation.

中文原文( Chinese )

江南可采莲，莲叶何田田！鱼戏莲叶间。

鱼戏莲叶东，鱼戏莲叶西，鱼戏莲叶南，鱼戏莲叶北。

- Last updated: 2025-06-29 11:03:12
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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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