Autumn Butterfly
- Poetry of Bai Juyi

《秋蝶》

- Last updated: 2024-04-10 11:30:45

中文原文

秋花紫蒙蒙，秋蝶黄茸茸。

花低蝶新小，飞戏丛西东。

日暮凉风来，纷纷花落丛。

夜深白露冷，蝶已死丛中。

朝生夕俱死，气类各相从。

不见千年鹤，多栖百丈松。

English Translation

A purple autumn flower,

a golden autumn butterfly;

the flower is a new blossom,

the butterfly just born,

flitting happily between one

flower and the next; then

at night, a cold wind comes

and the flower petals fall to

the ground, while among

them lies the little butterfly

now dead; in the daytime, both

were alive; come night, both

were dead; everything that lives

is the same; have you ever seen

a thousand year-old crane?

It is said they live only

on top of tall and ancient pines!

By Bai Juyi

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