Pure Serene Music-Late Spring
- Poetry of Huang Tingjian

《清平乐·春归何处》

中文原文( Chinese )

春归何处？寂寞无行路。

若有人知春去处，唤取归来同住。

春无踪迹谁知？除非问取黄鹂。

百啭无人能解，因风飞过蔷薇。

English Translation

Where has Spring gone?

No trace is left on pathway lone.

If you know where she is today,

Please call her back to stay.

Who can find traceless Spring?

Unless you ask the orioles Lnich sing

A hundred tunes none understand.

Riding the wind,they fly past rose-grown land.

Huang Tingjian (1045-1105)was one of the followers of Su Shi. This lyric reveals his love of Spring.

- Last updated: 2024-03-19 15:21:44

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