To the peony
- Poetry of Yu Xuanji

《寄国香》

- Last updated: 2024-05-16 09:34:56

中文原文

旦夕醉吟身，相思又此春。

雨中寄书使，窗下断肠人。

山卷珠帘看，愁随芳草新。

别来清宴上，几度落梁尘。

English Translation

Get drunken day and night,

miss you in this cold spring.

Write my love to you in the rain,

break my heart under the window.

Lift the curtain up to see green meadow,

my sorrow is growing like those wild grass.

Do you know how deeply i love you?

Cobweb on the bed,she's the only friend i can

whisper my yearning to.

By Yu Xuanji

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