On the Pure Brightness Festival (Picking Mulberries)
- Poetry of Ouyang Xiu

《采桑子·清明上巳西湖好》

- Last updated: 2024-03-24 17:05:34

中文原文

清明上巳西湖好，满目繁华。

争道谁家。绿柳朱轮走钿车。

游人日暮相将去，醒醉喧哗。

路转堤斜。直到城头总是花。

English Translation

On the Pure Brightness festival- West Lake is good.

Everywhere flowers abound,

Why does anyone need to speak?

Green willows and red wheels of decorated carriages passing.

As sun sets the visitors start to move off together.

Drunk or sober, making a noise,

The road bends, the dyke slants,

All the way to the city gate, everything is flowers.

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