On a Walk in the Early Spring Harmonizing a Poem By My Friend Lu Stationed at Changzhou
- Poetry of Du Shenyan

《和晋陵陆丞早春游望》

- Last updated: 2024-04-24 14:08:09

中文原文

独有宦游人，偏惊物候新。

云霞出海曙，梅柳渡江春。

淑气催黄鸟，晴光转绿蘋。

忽闻歌古调，归思欲沾巾。(巾一作：襟)

English Translation

Only to wanderers can come

Ever new the shock of beauty,

Of white cloud and red cloud dawning from the sea,

Of spring in the wild-plum and river-willow....

I watch a yellow oriole dart in the warm air,

And a green water- plant reflected by the sun.

Suddenly an old song fills

My heart with home, my eyes with tears.

Five-character-regular-verse

· Next：Lines

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