English Rendering
The fence is thinly built, the path leads far away;
The trees have new leaves but provide not yet shade.
A chased yellow butterfly seeks refuge among rape flowers,
Leaving the children puzzled where to find and catch it.
At an Inn in Xinshi
Poetry of Yang Wanli
《宿新市徐公店· 其二》
Original Text (中文原文)
篱落疏疏一径深，树头新绿未成阴。
儿童急走追黄蝶，飞入菜花无处寻。
Meaning & Analysis
Composed in 1192 during Yang Wanli's tenure as Jiangdong Transport Deputy, this quatrain captures a fleeting moment between late spring and early summer in rural Zhejiang. Written during a stopover in Xinshi (modern Deqing), the poem crystallizes the "Chengzhai Style" aesthetic—finding profundity in rustic simplicity through keen observation and unadorned language.
Related Themes
Reader's Companion
The Essence of the Verse
Classical Chinese poetry thrives on Concision and Ambiguity. Without tense or number, the words create a timeless space where the reader becomes the co-creator of the poem's meaning.
Reading Between the Lines
Look for Contrasts: light and shadow, movement and stillness. Don't just translate the words; feel the Yijing (artistic conception) that lingers long after the last character.
- Summer Nap at Leisure I
- Morning Meal at Qi's Inn, Songyuan
- Evening Walk in Autumn Cool
- Reply to Tang Shudu's Snow Poem
- Chasing Coolness on a Summer Night
- The Young Willow
- The Summit Temple
- <Prelude to Water Melody> Sent to Ziyou on Mid-autumn Festival
- Invitation to Wine
- Question and Answer in the Mountains
- Cold sheet
- Coming Home ( Returning Home )
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