The Crickets in Grasses Startle the Parasol Trees
- Poetry of Li Qingzhao

《行香子·草际鸣蛩》
The Crickets in Grasses Startle the Parasol Trees by Li Qingzhao
中文原文( Chinese )

草际鸣蛩，惊落梧桐。

正人间天上愁浓。

云阶月地，关锁千重。

纵浮槎来，浮槎去，不相逢。


星桥鹊驾，经年才见，想离情别恨难穷。

牵牛织女，莫是离中。

甚霎儿晴，霎儿雨，霎儿风。

English Translation

The crickets in grasses startle the parasol trees

into dropping leaves, and an ancient sorrow

fills Heaven and Earth, even the steps of clouds

are strewn with hurdles on the Moon grounds.

Although the boats go searching to and fro,

they rarely meet among the stars a single soul.


Only once in a year over the vast Starry River,

the magpies gather into a bridge for the lovers,

the herdsman with his weaver, a moment together.

The rest of the year they’re apart from each other,

as today, an endless struggle like the weather.

Nothing stays, rain or wind, sunshine or pleasure.

- to the Tune of Xingxiangzi

This ci comes from the period after the poet had moved south to avoid the conquering Jin armies, when her married 1ife was not only interrupted by her husband's departure on official duties, it was cast into peril for the unforeseeable future. The folktale of the herdsman and his weaver wife is the usual one summoned to capture the perpetual remorse of lovers whose separations outnumber their times together.

- Last updated: 2024-12-05 21:08:38
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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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