To My Old Friend in Yangzhou From a Boat Moored at Night on the Tonglu River
- Poetry of Meng Haoran

《宿桐庐江寄广陵旧游》

- Last updated: 2024-04-27 16:30:02

中文原文

山暝听猿愁，沧江急夜流。

风鸣两岸叶，月照一孤舟。

建德非吾土，维扬忆旧游。

还将两行泪，遥寄海西头。

English Translation

With monkeys whimpering on the shadowy mountain,

And the river rushing through the night,

And a wind in the leaves along both banks,

And the moon athwart my solitary sail,

I, a stranger in this inland district,

Homesick for my Yangzhou friends,

Send eastward two long streams of tears

To find the nearest touch of the sea.

Five-character-regular-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