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》Seven-character-regular-verse
This is a palace tribute poem composed by Cen Shen. During the Tang Dynasty, particularly in the flourishing High Tang period, the custom of writing palace poetry was prevalent. Scholars and poets were often summoned to the imperial court to attend morning assemblies or banquets, where they were asked to compose and exchange poems, praising the emperor's boundless grace and the empire’s prosperity. This particular poem was written by Cen Shen during an early morning court assembly at Daming Palace. It serves both as a depiction of the court’s splendor and an expression of the poet’s admiration for the peaceful era of the High Tang, along with his own humble reflections on being part of the imperial court.
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.
-- Poem translator: Kiang Kanghu
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。
- 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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