A Girl Closed the Door in the Spring
- Poetry of Nalan Xingde

《河传》

- Last updated: 2024-03-24 15:39:55

中文原文

春浅，红怨，掩双环。

微雨花间，昼闲。

无言暗将红泪弹。

阑珊，香销轻梦还。

斜倚画屏思往事，皆不是，空作相思字。

记当时垂柳丝，花枝，满庭蝴蝶儿。

English Translation

A girl closed the door in the spring,

life is cozy in the singing of the light rain.

Suddenly she cried her heart out because

she remembered the dream of kissing her boy.

Leaning on the balustrade to recall,

those sweet memories bounce on her little soul.

Suddenly she caught a butterfly and smiled because

she remembered the day he walked through the roses with the butterfly.

By Nalan Xingde

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