A Message to Censor Yang
- Poetry of Qian Qi

《谷口书斋寄杨补阙》

- Last updated: 2024-05-02 21:31:37

中文原文

泉壑带茅茨，云霞生薜帷。

竹怜新雨后，山爱夕阳时。

闲鹭栖常早，秋花落更迟。

家童扫萝径，昨与故人期。

English Translation

At a little grass-hut in the valley of the river,

Where a cloud seems born from a viney wall,

You will love the bamboos new with rain,

And mountains tender in the sunset.

Cranes drift early here to rest

And autumn flowers are slow to fade....

I have bidden my pupil to sweep the grassy path

For the coming of my friend.

Five-character-regular-verse

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