Three Poems Presented to His Majesty on Visiting Xinfeng and Warmsprings Palace I
- Poetry of Shangguan Wan'er

《驾幸新丰温泉宫献诗三首·其一》

- Last updated: 2024-06-19 11:19:20

中文原文

三冬季月景龙年，万乘观风出灞川。

遥看电跃龙为马，回瞩霜原玉作田。

English Translation

The very last of winter's three months,

in the years of the Jinglong Reign,

The Prince of Hosts left the River Ba to view the ways of his land.

I see in the distance lightning leap,

dragons are his steeds;

I turn and spy the frosty plain whose fields are all of jade.

By Shangguan Wan'er

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