Ascending the Pagoda at the Temple of Kind Favour With Gao Shi and Xue Ju
- Poetry of Cen Shen

《与高适薛据登慈恩寺浮图》

- Last updated: 2024-04-20 20:21:33

Ascending the Pagoda at the Temple of Kind Favour With Gao Shi and Xue Ju by Cen Shen
中文原文

塔势如涌出，孤高耸天宫。

登临出世界，磴道盘虚空。

突兀压神州，峥嵘如鬼工。

四角碍白日，七层摩苍穹。

下窥指高鸟，俯听闻惊风。

连山若波涛，奔走似朝东。

青槐夹驰道，宫馆何玲珑。

秋色从西来，苍然满关中。

五陵北原上，万古青濛濛。

净理了可悟，胜因夙所宗。

誓将挂冠去，觉道资无穷。

English Translation

The pagoda, rising abruptly from earth,

Reaches to the very Palace of Heaven....

Climbing, we seem to have left the world behind us,

With the steps we look down on hung from space.

It overtops a holy land

And can only have been built by toil of the spirit.

Its four sides darken the bright sun,

Its seven stories cut the grey clouds;

Birds fly down beyond our sight,

And the rapid wind below our hearing;

Mountain-ranges, toward the east,

Appear to be curving and flowing like rivers;

Far green locust-trees line broad roads

Toward clustered palaces and mansions;

Colours of autumn, out of the west,

Enter advancing through the city;

And northward there lie, in five graveyards,

Calm forever under dewy green grass,

Those who know life's final meaning

Which all humankind must learn.

...Henceforth I put my official hat aside.

To find the Eternal Way is the only happiness.

Five-character-ancient-verse

· Pre： At Wang Changlin's Retreat
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.

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