A Farewell in the Evening Rain to Li Cao
- Poetry of Wei Yingwu

《赋得暮雨送李胄》

- Last updated: 2024-03-31 11:16:19

中文原文

楚江微雨里，建业暮钟时。

漠漠帆来重，冥冥鸟去迟。

海门深不见，浦树远含滋。

相送情无限，沾襟比散丝。

English Translation

Is it raining on the river all the way to Chu? -- -

The evening bell comes to us from Nanjing.

Your wet sail drags and is loath to be going

And shadowy birds are flying slow.

We cannot see the deep ocean-gate --

Only the boughs at Pukou, newly dripping.

Likewise, because of our great love,

There are threads of water on our faces.

Five-character-regular-verse

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