All My Life, I Have Loved It (Picking Mulberries)
- Poetry of Ouyang Xiu

《采桑子·平生为爱西湖好》

- Last updated: 2024-03-24 17:03:47

中文原文

平生为爱西湖好，来拥朱轮。

富贵浮云。俯仰流年二十春。

归来恰似辽东鹤，城郭人民。

触目皆新。

谁识当年旧主人。

English Translation

All my life, I have loved it- West Lake is good.

A crowd around the red wheels,

Riches and honours are floating clouds,

Look down, look up, the years flow on, twenty springs have passed.

Now returned, I look like a crane from the distant east.

The people around the city walls,

All are new that meet the eye,

Who can remember their governor from those olden days?

By Ouyang Xiu

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