Visiting Ezhou
- Poetry of Yu Xuanji

《过鄂州》

- Last updated: 2024-06-19 17:37:59

Visiting Ezhou by Yu Xuanji
中文原文

柳拂兰桡花满枝，石城城下暮帆迟。

折牌峰上三闾墓，远火山头五马旗。

白雪调高题旧寺，阳春歌在换新词。

莫愁魂逐清江去，空使行人万首诗。

English Translation

Willows get in the way, orchids are grotesque,

blossoms smother their branches

below Stone City's walls the boats

sail slowly through the dusk

what's on top of Zhepai mountain﹖

the ancient poet Qu Yuan's grave

what's on Yuanhuo peak?

the flags of the magistrate's carriage

white snow makes a high, thin music

writing its poems on old temples

sunlit spring is a new poem

set to a brilliant melody

don't be sad that a soul

fords the clear river and is gone—

that's what makes travelers compose

ten thousand poems in vain.

Seven-character poem

· Pre： Sent to Feiqing
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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