A Walk at Dongpo, the East Slope
- Poetry of Su Shi

《东坡》
A Walk at Dongpo, the East Slope by Su Shi
中文原文( Chinese )

雨洗东坡月色清，

市人行尽野人行。

莫嫌荦确坡头路。

自爱铿然曳杖声。

English Translation

The moon starts to glow after the rain on the East Slope.

No more hustles and bustles, just an idler walking alone.

I’m taking the rocky road you can’t have on the street;

And I love the clicking tone of my stick on the stones.

Dongpo, the Chinese pinyin for ‘东坡’ (meaning east slope), was a barren land on a hillside near the Red Clift outside the old East Gate of Huangzhou Town. The farm life as a criminal politician opened a unique chapter for Su Shi where he managed to cultivate his character for a more sophisticated insight about the world. In a Chinese idiom, we may say, “Out of the sloppy muddy mess grows a proud and pure lotus flower (出污泥而不染)”. His ability of tolerance came from his broad-minded character and optimistic attitude about life. His wife Wang Fo commented that he saw no enemy in his life journey.  The five-year’s rocky journey (1079-1084) could have ruined many public celebrities, but proved to be a great turning point marked with huge success in Su Shi’s artistic creation.

- Last updated: 2024-10-08 21:42:47
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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.

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