Border-songs II
- Poetry of Lu Lun

《塞下曲四首之二》

- Last updated: 2024-04-17 15:14:09

中文原文

林暗草惊风，将军夜引弓。

平明寻白羽，没在石棱中。

English Translation

The woods are black and a wind assails the grasses,

Yet the general tries night archery --

And next morning he finds his white-plumed arrow

Pointed deep in the hard rock.

Folk-song-styled-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