A Moonlight Night
- Poetry of Liu Fangping

《月夜》

- Last updated: 2024-05-14 15:04:27

中文原文

更深月色半人家，北斗阑干南斗斜。

今夜偏知春气暖，虫声新透绿窗纱。

English Translation

When the moon has coloured half the house,

With the North Star at its height and the South Star setting,

I can fed the first motions of the warm air of spring

In the singing of an insect at my green-silk window.

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