Clearing Rain
- Poetry of Du Fu

《雨晴（一作秋霁）》

- Last updated: 2024-02-24 22:53:17

中文原文

天水秋云薄，从西万里风。

今朝好晴景，久雨不妨农。

塞柳行疏翠，山梨结小红。

胡笳楼上发，一雁入高空。

English Translation

The sky's water has fallen, and autumn clouds are thin,

The western wind has blown ten thousand li.

This morning's scene is good and fine,

Long rain has not harmed the land.

The row of willows begins to show green,

The pear tree on the hill has little red flowers.

A hujia pipe begins to play upstairs,

One goose flies high into the sky.

A li is a Chinese unit of distance, equal to approximately a third of a mile.

The hujia was a reeded flute adopted from Central Asian nomadic peoples.

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