To My Wife
- Poetry of Zhang Hu

《赠内人》

- Last updated: 2024-05-15 10:21:55

中文原文

禁门宫树月痕过，媚眼惟看宿鹭窠。

斜拔玉钗灯影畔，剔开红焰救飞蛾。

English Translation

When the moonlight, reaching a tree by the gate,

Shows her a quiet bird on its nest,

She removes her jade hairpins and sits in the shadow

And puts out a flame where a moth was flying.

Seven-character-quatrain

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