Quiet girl
- Poetry of Pre-Qin Poetry

《静女》

中文原文

静女其姝，俟我于城隅。

爱而不见，搔首踟蹰。

静女其娈，贻我彤管。

彤管有炜，说怿女美。

自牧归荑，洵美且异。

匪女之为美，美人之贻。

English Translation

The girl was so quiet,

shyly asked me out.

Hid in the bush,coy to confess,

i walked here and there,nowhere found her.

The girl was so gorgeous,

secretly gave me a rose.

Rose was red as her blushing face,

i really loved that dreamy colour.

She plucked the herbs from the forest,

left me a beautiful love story.

I still treasure those herbs,so merry,

always make me miss her sweet.

By Anonymous

- Last updated: 2024-03-22 16:10:13

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