English Rendering
I may exert myself to climb a mountain or hill,
But there's no one to supply me with wine.
I sorrow for the chrysanthemums in my own garden:
They must be blooming, but with the grim battlefield nearby.
Thinking of My Garden in Chang'an on the Double Ninth Festival
- Poetry of Cen Shen
《行军九日思长安故园》
Original Text (中文原文)
强欲登高去，无人送酒来。
遥怜故园菊，应傍战场开。
Analysis & Context
The poem is titled "Ascending to the Heights at Chung Yeung", which expresses not the general holiday homesickness, but the worry about the state affairs and the deep concern about the people's hardship in the war.
The poem reflects the far-reaching impact of the An Lushan Rebellion on society and the lives of ordinary people.
Cen Can's five-character quatrain seems on the surface to describe the scene of ascending heights and drinking wine during the Double Ninth Festival. However, it profoundly conveys the poet's deep concern for the state of the nation and his empathy for the suffering of the people amidst the chaos of war. The poem reflects the far-reaching impact of the An Lushan Rebellion on society and the lives of ordinary people.
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.
- Playing a Joke on the Vintner at Huamen
- In the Desert
- Drinking with Friends at Night in Liangzhou
- Thinking of My Garden in Chang'an on the Double Ninth Festival
- Ascending the Pagoda at the Temple of Kind Favour With Gao Shi and Xue Ju
- On Meeting a Messenger to the Capital
- 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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