a Farewell to Governor Li on His Way Home to Hanyang
- Poetry of Liu Changqing

《送李中丞之襄州》

- Last updated: 2024-03-15 17:21:29

中文原文

流落征南将，曾驱十万师。

罢归无旧业，老去恋明时。

独立三边静，轻生一剑知。

茫茫江汉上，日暮欲何之。

English Translation

Sad wanderer, once you conquered the South,

Commanding a hundred thousand men;

Today, dismissed and dispossessed,

In your old age you remember glory.

Once, when you stood, three borders were still;

Your dagger was the scale of life.

Now, watching the great rivers, the Jiang and the Han,

On their ways in the evening, where do you go?

Five-character-regular-verse

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