A Sigh in The Spring Palace
- Poetry of Du Xunhe

《春宫怨》

- Last updated: 2024-05-05 20:01:44

中文原文

早被婵娟误，欲妆临镜慵。

承恩不在貌，教妾若为容。

风暖鸟声碎，日高花影重。

年年越溪女，相忆采芙蓉。

English Translation

Knowing beauty my misfortune,

I face my mirror with a sigh.

To please a fastidious emperor,

How shall I array myself?....

Birds flock and sing when the wind is warm,

Flower-shadows climb when the sun is high --

And year after year girls in the south

Are picking hibiscus, dreaming of love!

Five-character-regular-verse

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