Sidixiang
- Poetry of Wei Zhuang

《思帝乡·春日游》

- Last updated: 2024-06-11 14:39:51

中文原文

春日游，杏花吹满头。

陌上谁家少年，足风流。

妾拟将身嫁与，一生休。

纵被无情弃，不能羞。

English Translation

Here I am, on a spring excursion,

With apricot flowers blown full on my head.

In that young fellow in yonder path—

More than romance and love, I have read.

If I could just be married to him,

My destiny would be for e'er set.

Granted: he might at last forsake me.

I'd have nothing whate'er to regret.

By Wei Zhuang

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