Lines
- Poetry of Shen Quanqi

《杂诗》

中文原文( Chinese )

闻道黄龙戍，频年不解兵。

可怜闺里月，长在汉家营。

少妇今春意，良人昨夜情。

谁能将旗鼓，一为取龙城。

English Translation

Against the City of the Yellow Dragon

Our troops were sent long years ago,

And girls here watch the same melancholy moon

That lights our Chinese warriors --

And young wives dream a dream of spring,

That last night their heroic husbands,

In a great attack, with flags and drums,

Captured the City of the Yellow Dragon.

Five-character-regular-verse

- Last updated: 2024-04-25 11:43:07

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