English Rendering
Don't cut it to make a flute.
Don't trim it for a fishing
Pole. When the grass and flowers
Are all gone, it will be beautiful
Under the falling snow flakes.
The Bamboo by the Window
- Poetry of Bai Juyi
《题李次云窗竹》
Original Text (中文原文)
不用裁为鸣凤管，不须截作钓鱼竿。
千花百草凋零后，留向纷纷雪里看。
Analysis & Context
By Bai Juyi
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.
- Yiai Temple
- Early Spring
- The Zither
- On Qiantang Lake in Spring
- Spring View in Hangzhou
- Song of Willow Branch
- 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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