Palace Visited at Night - A Dream
- Poetry of Lu You

《夜游宫·记梦寄师伯浑》

中文原文( Chinese )

雪晓清笳乱起，梦游处，不知何地。

铁骑无声望似水。

想关河：雁门西，青海际。

睡觉寒灯里，漏声断，月斜窗纸。

自许封侯在万里。

有谁知，鬓虽残，心未死！

English Translation

On snowy morning I hear flute on flute pell-mell.

Where did I dream? I know not well.

I seemed to see a flood of silent cavaliers

On the northern frontiers,

West of the Wild Geese Pass

By desert-side, alas!

Awake, I only find cold candlelight,

The water clock no longer goes,

At my paper window peeps the slanting moonlight.

I promised to win victory far away.

But, O, who knows?

My hope sinks dead, my hair turns grey.

By Lu You

- Last updated: 2024-07-08 15:23:49

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