Beady curtains covered my bedroom
- Poetry of Li Shangyin

《重帏深下莫愁堂》

中文原文( Chinese )

重帏深下莫愁堂，卧后清宵细细长。

神女生涯原是梦，小姑居处本无郎。

风波不信菱枝弱，月露谁教桂叶香。

直道相思了无益，未妨惆怅是清狂。

English Translation

Beady curtains covered my bedroom,

lied in bed,nothing i did but yearned you.

It turned out encountering you is just a dream,

i'm just a damsel like the lonely dew on the tulip.

Wind blew my secret garden hurriedly,

the more tragedy i had,the more sweetness i felt.

I knew it's empty to think of your beauty badly,

but that's how i could catch the fragrance of you heavenly love.

By Li Shangyin

- Last updated: 2024-03-22 22:08:24

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