Green shirt
- Poetry of Pre-Qin Poetry

《子衿》

中文原文

青青子衿，悠悠我心。

纵我不往，子宁不嗣音？

青青子佩，悠悠我思。

纵我不往，子宁不来？

挑兮达兮，在城阙兮。

一日不见，如三月兮！

English Translation

You wore the green shirt,

i was just captivated by your beauty.

Even if i haven't leered at you,

don't you know how much i love you?

You wore the green hairband,

i was just immersed in your tender.

Even if i haven't gone to see you,

won't you come to enjoy my view?

walk and stride,back and forth,

at gate tower,i just wanna encounter you.

A day without you

is like three years to me,fading away my mirth.

By Anonymous

- Last updated: 2024-03-22 16:09:44

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