The Autumn Wind
- Poetry of Liu Che

《秋风辞》
The Autumn Wind by Liu Che
中文原文( Chinese )

上行幸河东，祠后土，顾视帝京欣然，中流与群臣饮燕，上欢甚，乃自作《秋风辞》曰：

秋风起兮白云飞，草木黄落兮雁南归。

兰有秀兮菊有芳，怀佳人兮不能忘。

泛楼船兮济汾河，横中流兮扬素波。

箫鼓鸣兮发棹歌，欢乐极兮哀情多。少壮几时兮奈老何！

English Translation

When autumn winds are sweeping clouds away,

Leaves fall and wild geese fly on southward way.

While orchids and chrysanthemums have their best days,

My fair maid always in my mind's eye stays.


Our boat is floating on the river Fen,

Cutting midstream currents now and then,

With music mingled with the songs of men.

My joy is dampened by the simple truth

That senior age falls on the heels of youth.

Fond of poetry and prose,he has left to the world 8 poems,the most popular of which is The Autumn Wind,an occasional poem written when he was wining and dining his ministers.

- Last updated: 2024-08-06 14:55:37
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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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