Waves Scouring the Sands: Reminiscence
- Poetry of Li Yu

《浪淘沙·怀旧》

- Last updated: 2024-03-16 15:29:46

Waves Scouring the Sands: Reminiscence by Li Yu
中文原文

帘外雨潺潺，春意阑珊。

罗衾不耐五更寒。

梦里不知身是客，一晌贪欢。

独自莫凭栏，无限江山。

别时容易见时难。

流水落花春去也，天上人间。

English Translation

Outside the window, a mizzling, drizzling rain,

Spring is on the wane,

The chills b’fore dawn, my silk quilt cannot long sustain.

In dream, unaware I’m none but a guest of my captor’s,

For a while I while in vain.


Alone: from looking afar, I must refrain,

Fair was my kingdom’s terrain,

A paradise lost so readily, so very hard to regain.

Like petals falling on rippling waters, spring is no more:

‘Twas heav’n, now a world profane.

This is one of the best lyrics written by Li Yu after he was taken as a captive north to the Song capital Fallen flowers,rolling waves,departing spring,all reminded him of his lost country.

Translated by Andrew W.F. Wong (Huang Hongfa)

· Pre： Farewell
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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