A Farm-house on the Wei River
- Poetry of Wang Wei

《渭川田家》

- Last updated: 2024-04-19 00:09:44

中文原文

斜阳照墟落，穷巷牛羊归。

野老念牧童，倚杖候荆扉。

雉雊麦苗秀，蚕眠桑叶稀。

田夫荷锄至，相见语依依。

即此羡闲逸，怅然吟式微。

English Translation

In the slant of the sun on the country-side,

Cattle and sheep trail home along the lane;

And a rugged old man in a thatch door

Leans on a staff and thinks of his son, the herdboy.

There are whirring pheasants? full wheat-ears,

Silk-worms asleep, pared mulberry-leaves.

And the farmers, returning with hoes on their shoulders,

Hail one another familiarly.

...No wonder I long for the simple life

And am sighing the old song, Oh, to go Back Again!

Five-character-quatrain

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