Sent to Feiqing
- Poetry of Yu Xuanji

《寄飞卿》
Sent to Feiqing by Yu Xuanji
中文原文( Chinese )

阶砌乱蛩鸣，庭柯烟露清。

月中邻乐响，楼上远山明。

珍簟凉风著，瑶琴寄恨生。

嵇君懒书札，底物慰秋情。

English Translation

Crickets chirp on the stair-steps

they sound confused to me

in the misty courtyard, along the branches,

clear dewdrops hang

a moonlit night—I hear faint music

coming from my neighbor's

if I went upstairs I could see the mountains

distinct even in the distance

a cool breeze comes to stroke me

as I sit on my bamboo mat

and I wish I had a magic lute

to help me get through this life

I feel like that philosopher

who wrote such lazy letters

wanting some way to express

the moods and thoughts of autumn.

Five-character poem

Yu Xuanji has come to know Wen Tingyun, the popular poet of her time, better over time, as she uses only his courtesy name to address him without the prefix of his family name. This need mean no more than that the two have often exchanged challenge poems as friends. But I would think that the two have met, at least with his visiting the monastery where she lives.

- Last updated: 2024-12-25 21:18:49
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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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