The Garden of the Golden Valley
- Poetry of Du Mu
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
This poem was composed by Du Mu during his visit to the Golden Valley Garden in Luoyang. Originally the luxurious villa of Shi Chong, a wealthy aristocrat of the Western Jin Dynasty, the garden was renowned for its opulence. Shi Chong's beloved concubine, Green Pearl, famously leapt to her death from a tower to preserve her honor. As Du Mu wandered through the garden, he was struck by the contrast between its former glory and its current state of decline. Inspired by the story of Green Pearl, he wrote this poem to reflect on the impermanence of life and the passage of time.
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。
- 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.