With Peonies in Bloom
- Poetry of Liu Yuxi

《饮酒看牡丹》

- Last updated: 2024-06-20 09:50:31

中文原文

今日花前饮，甘心醉数杯。

但愁花有语，不为老人开。

English Translation

Today, with these flowers before me, I'll drink!

Don't mind if I have a couple more—ah! getting mellow—

If only—if only they wouldn't say: "Our bloom is not for you, old man!"

By Liu Yuxi

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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.

List of Chinese poets