Butterfly in Love with Flower-Red Flowers Fade
- Poetry of Su Shi

《蝶恋花·春景》

- Last updated: 2024-01-09 17:09:47

中文原文

花褪残红青杏小。

燕子飞时，绿水人家绕。

枝上柳绵吹又少，天涯何处无芳草！

墙里秋千墙外道。

墙外行人，墙里佳人笑。

笑渐不闻声渐悄，多情却被无情恼。

English Translation

Red flowers fade and green apricots are still small

When swallows pass

Over blue water which surrounds the garden wall.

Most willow catkins have been blown away,alas!

But there is no place where will not grow sweet green grass.

Without the wall there's a path within there's a swing.

A passer-by

Hears the fair maiden's laughter in the garden ring.

As the ringing laughter dies away by and by,

For the enchantress the enchant'd can only sigh.

1095

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