My Lantern Festival at Suzhou - to the tune of Nanxiangzi
- Poetry of Su Shi

《南乡子·宿州上元》
My Lantern Festival at Suzhou - to the tune of Nanxiangzi by Su Shi
中文原文( Chinese )

千骑试春游，小雨如酥落便收。

能使江东归老客，迟留。

白酒无声滑泻油。

飞火乱星球，浅黛横波翠欲流。

不似白云乡外冷，温柔。

此去淮南第一州。

English Translation

Nature’s fresh again as misty rain sooths the terrain.

Horses and carriages bustle out for a taste of spring.

Why not stay longer for the beautiful wine in here?

and what’s more,

This old boy feels at home in East of Yangtse River.

 

The sky’s vibrant with bursting fire stars and flowers

Over rolling hills of budding green n rippling waters.

Life on earth is cosier than up there above the clouds.

and there’s more,

I’m heading to ‘East Huainan’s Best’, Zhenzhou Town.

Lantern Festival: The Chinese New Year, usually in February, is a traditional festival to celebrate the starting of the spring season, hence called also “ the Spring Festival”. Lantern Festival is the last day, or more accurately, the 15th evening when people can celebrate under the first full moon of the Chinese lunar year.  It is also a time when people start spring outings to the country. The bustling streets are decorated with colourful lanterns, and shops sell them with riddles written on them. The customer with the right answer is often rewarded with the lantern or some other gift. The festive atmosphere is highest when there are lion and fireworks, dragon dances, parades, and other local celebrations. Every family will eat small glutinous rice balls, called ‘yuanxiao’. The round shape of food and the round moon all send out people’s best wishes for the new year for more family reunions and more fulfilments in life.

- Last updated: 2024-10-10 20:53:35
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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.

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