Song of the Clear Stream
- Poetry of Li Bai (Li Po)

《清溪行》

- Last updated: 2024-03-24 16:43:32

中文原文

清溪清我心，水色异诸水。

借问新安江，见底何如此？

人行明镜中，鸟度屏风里。

向晚猩猩啼，空悲远游子。

English Translation

The Clear Stream clears my heart;

Its water flows apart.

I ask the River New,"Why transparent are you?"

On mirror bright boats hie;

Between the screens birds fly.

At dusk the monkeys cry;

In vain the wayfarers sigh.

This poem describes the scenery on the Clear Stream and the poet's feeling on leaving it.

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