The Sui Palace
- Poetry of Li Shangyin

《隋宫-乘兴南游不戒严》

- Last updated: 2024-05-09 11:49:05

中文原文

乘兴南游不戒严，九重谁省谏书函

春风举国裁宫锦，半作障泥半作帆。

English Translation

When gaily the Emperor toured the south

Contrary to every warning,

His whole empire cut brocades,

Half for wheel-guards, half for sails.

Seven-character-quatrain

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