River Journey
- Poetry of Yu Xuanji

《江行》
River Journey by Yu Xuanji
中文原文( Chinese )

大江横抱武昌斜，鹦鹉洲前户万家。

画舸春眠朝未足，梦为蝴蝶也寻花。

烟花已入鸬鹚港，画舸犹沿鹦鹉洲。

醉卧醒吟都不觉，今朝惊在汉江头。

English Translation

We cross the Yangtze diagonally

heading for Wuchang city

passing Parrot Island where thousands of families live

in the early hours the painted barge

has a cargo of lovers and sleepers

and I dream I've become a butterfly

seeking the flowers too


Dim mist and we're already sailing

into Cormorant Harbor

I thought we were still in the middle

somewhere near Parrot Island

I went to bed drunk, lay awake

singing all kinds of nonsense

got up on the Hanjiang River side

stunned to be back on dry land.

Seven-character poem

While she is probably on or near the Han River (汉江), which passes by Chang'an, she is hundreds of miles from its headwaters (汉江头) and mouth. Large rivers are used as symbols of the Milky Way, stars, remoteness. If she's on her own, she probably is on Cormorant Creek, as she says. Of course, the final line could be: "This morning, I am startled from my reverie to find myself drifting out onto Han River." In which case, no fear and no hints about her life.

- Last updated: 2024-12-25 21:21:08
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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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