Answering Vice-Prefect Zhang
- Poetry of Wang Wei

《酬张少府》
Answering Vice-Prefect Zhang by Wang Wei
English Translation

As the years go by, give me but peace,

Freedom from ten thousand matters.

I ask myself and always answer:

What can be better than coming home?

A wind from the pine-trees blows my sash,

And my lute is bright with the mountain moon.

You ask me about good and evil fortune?....

Hark, on the lake there's a fisherman singing!

Five-character-regular-verse


中文原文( Chinese )
Simplified Chinese Version

晚年唯好静,万事不关心。

自顾无长策,空知返旧林。

松风吹解带,山月照弹琴。

君问穷通理,渔歌入浦深。


Traditional Chinese Version

晚年惟好靜, 萬事不關心。

自顧無長策, 空知返舊林。

松風吹解帶, 山月照彈琴。

君問窮通理, 漁歌入浦深。

- Last updated: 2024-04-26 16:28:08
· PreMount ZhongNan
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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