The Eastern Hill (One of Two Poems)
- Poetry of Li Bai (Li Po)

《忆东山 ( 二首选一 )》

- Last updated: 2024-03-20 14:56:53

The Eastern Hill (One of Two Poems) by Li Bai (Li Po)
中文原文

不向东山久，蔷薇几度花。

白云还自散，明月落谁家。

English Translation

Once more I come to Eastern Hill.

How many times has blown the rose?

White clouds gather and scatter still.

Where sinks the moon of yore? Who knows?

Xie An,poet-governor of the 4th century,resided in the Eastern Hill where there was a Cave of Roses,and he built the Hall of White Cloud and the Hall of Bright Moon on top of the hill (in present-day Zhejiang Province).

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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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