The Garden of the Golden Valley
- Poetry of Du Mu

《金谷园》

- Last updated: 2024-05-15 10:45:15

中文原文

繁华事散逐香尘，流水无情草自春。

日暮东风怨啼鸟，落花犹似坠楼人。

English Translation

Stories of passion make sweet dust,

Calm water, grasses unconcerned.

At sunset, when birds cry in the wind,

Petals are falling like a girl s robe long ago.

Seven-character-quatrain

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