Staying up All Night on New Year's Eve
- Poetry of Su Shi

《守岁》

English Rendering

The end of the year is drawing nearAs a snake crawls back to its hole.

We see half its body disappear And soon we' ll lose sight of the whole.

If we try to tie down its tail, We can't succeed whate' er we do. Children will stay up and regale Themselves with feast the whole night through.

Cocks, wake not the dawn with your song; Drums, do not boom out the hour now!

The wick is burned as I sit long, I rise to see the slanting Plough.

Will there be no New Year's Eve next year?

I am afraid time waits for none.

Let us enjoy tonight with cheer So that childhood will longer run.

Staying up All Night on New Year's Eve by Su Shi
Staying up All Night on New Year's Eve by Su Shi

Original Text (中文原文)

欲知垂尽岁,有似赴壑蛇。

修鳞半已没,去意谁能遮?

况欲系其尾,虽勤知奈何!

儿童强不睡,相守夜灌哗。

晨鸡且勿唱,更鼓畏添挝。

坐久灯烬落,起看北斗斜。

明年岂无年,心事恐蹉跎。

努力尽今夕,少年犹可夸。

Analysis & Context

1062

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The Essence of the Verse

Classical Chinese poetry thrives on Concision and Ambiguity. Without tense or number, the words create a timeless space where the reader becomes the co-creator of the poem's meaning.

Reading Between the Lines

Look for Contrasts: light and shadow, movement and stillness. Don't just translate the words; feel the Yijing (artistic conception) that lingers long after the last character.

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