The Lantern Festival
- Poetry of Zhu Shuzhen

《元夜》

中文原文( Chinese )

火树银花触目红，揭天鼓吹闹春风。

新欢入手愁忙里，旧事惊心忆梦中。

但愿暂成人缱绻，不妨常任月朦胧。

赏灯那得工夫醉，未必明年此会同。

English Translation

The fireworks ignited the red sky,

choirs hymned on the street.

You hug me in the crowd,

all of those sweet dreams rushes into my mind.

I wish we could eternally hold this moment,

just let the cloud veils the blushing moon.

baby,light up the lantern,kiss me crazily,

i don't know if i could see you in the next year.

By Zhu Shuzhen

- Last updated: 2024-12-22 22:16:29

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