An Early Audience at the Palace of Light Harmonizing Secretary Jia Zhi's Poem
- Poetry of Cen Shen

《奉和中书舍人贾至早朝大明宫》

- Last updated: 2024-03-18 14:44:24

中文原文

鸡鸣紫陌曙光寒，莺啭皇州春色阑。

金阙晓钟开万户，玉阶仙仗拥千官。

花迎剑佩星初落，柳拂旌旗露未干。

独有凤凰池上客，阳春一曲和皆难。

English Translation

Cock-crow, the Purple Road cold in the dawn;

Linnet songs, court roofs tinted with April;

At the Golden Gate morning bell, countless doors open,

And up the jade steps float a thousand officials

With flowery scabbards.... Stars have gone down;

Willows are brushing the dew from the flags --

And, alone on the Lake of the Phoenix, a guest

Is chanting too well The Song of Bright Spring.

Seven-character-regular-verse

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