Hearing Squire Li Had Gone Fishing, I Sent Him This Poem
- Poetry of Yu Xuanji

《闻李端公垂钓回寄赠》
Hearing Squire Li Had Gone Fishing, I Sent Him This Poem by Yu Xuanji
中文原文( Chinese )

无限荷香染暑衣，阮郎何处弄船归？

自惭不及鸳鸯侣，犹得双双近钓矶。

English Translation

No limit to the lotuses' fragrance

they match the color of your summer clothes

my darling, don't pole your boat

into places you can't get back from

I wish we could match the affection

of all those mandarin ducks

swimming around in pairs

close by your fishing rock.

Seven-character poem

Li Duan (743-782) was a poet. And his friend Lu Lun (737-799) was also a poet. Lu wrote a parting poem for his friend Li entitled 李端公. Somehow, Yu Xuanji has learned that Li Duan liked to fish. And from what we have seen, Yu doesn't miss a chance to go fishing. So she writes Li Duan, now dead some 80 years, this poem. And that's all we know. A ruan (阮) is an ancient musical instrument and so becomes a symbol for poetry which achieved a height to which Yu's cannot reach.

- Last updated: 2024-12-25 21:27:50
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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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