Song of a Woman of Ba
- Poetry of Li Bai (Li Po)

《巴女词》

中文原文( Chinese )

巴水急如箭，巴船去若飞。

十月三千里，郎行几岁归。

English Translation

The River fast like arrow flows,

Your boat as if on wings swift goes.

Ten months, a thousand miles away,

When will you come back? On what day?

By Li Bai (Li Po)

- Last updated: 2024-03-20 14:31:13

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