For Roaming Yuan Zhen
- Poetry of Bai Juyi
《望驿台》
English Translation
Your wife gazes at yellowing willows at home;
You on flowers falling on the ground while you roam.
Spring comes to end in two places on the same day;
You think of home and she of you far, far away.
This poem was written in March of 809 (the 4th year of the Yuanhe era), when Bai Juyi responded to his friend Yuan Zhen. At that time, Yuan Zhen, as a censor, was on a mission in Guangyuan, Sichuan. Taking this opportunity, Bai Juyi wrote this poem to his friend, expressing his deep feelings about friendship, separation, and nostalgia.
中文原文( Chinese )
靖安宅里当窗柳，望驿台前扑地花。
两处春光同日尽，居人思客客思家。
- 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.