An Old Fisherman
- Poetry of Liu Zongyuan

《渔翁》

- Last updated: 2024-04-22 14:44:31

中文原文

渔翁夜傍西岩宿，晓汲清湘燃楚竹。

烟销日出不见人，欸乃一声山水绿。

回看天际下中流，岩上无心云相逐。

English Translation

An old fisherman spent the night here, under the western cliff;

He dipped up water from the pure Hsiang and made a bamboo fire;

And then, at sunrise, he went his way through the cloven mist,

With only the creak of his paddle left, in the greenness of mountain and river.

...I turn and see the waves moving as from heaven,

And clouds above the cliffs coming idly, one by one.

Seven-character-ancient-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