The Beautiful Xi Shi
- Poetry of Wang Wei

《西施咏》
The Beautiful Xi Shi by Wang Wei
中文原文( Chinese )

艳色天下重，西施宁久微。

朝仍越溪女，暮作吴宫妃。

贱日岂殊众，贵来方悟稀。

邀人傅香粉，不自著罗衣。

君宠益娇态，君怜无是非。

当时浣纱伴，莫得同车归。

持谢邻家子，效颦安可希。

English Translation

Since beauty is honoured all over the Empire,

How could Xi Shi remain humbly at home? --

Washing clothes at dawn by a southern lake --

And that evening a great lady in a palace of the north:

Lowly one day, no different from the others,

The next day exalted, everyone praising her.

No more would her own hands powder her face

Or arrange on her shoulders a silken robe.

And the more the King loved her, the lovelier she looked,

Blinding him away from wisdom.

...Girls who had once washed silk beside her

Were kept at a distance from her chariot.

And none of the girls in her neighbours' houses

By pursing their brows could copy her beauty.

Five-character-quatrain

- Last updated: 2024-04-19 09:19:55
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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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