English Rendering
Petals of spring fly all through the city
From the wind in the willows of the Imperial River.
And at dusk, from the palace, candles are given out
To light first the mansions of the Five Great Lords.
After the Day of No Fire
- Poetry of Han Hong
《寒食》
Original Text (中文原文)
春城无处不飞花，寒食东风御柳斜。
日暮汉宫传蜡烛，轻烟散入五侯家。
Analysis & Context
Seven-character-quatrain
This poem makes perfect sense if we understand that Han Hong wrote this in the aftermath of the An Lushan Rebellion. The capital city Chang’an had fallen to rebels, but it was, in time, retaken by forces loyal to the Tang dynasty. Emperor Xuanzong, died, so did his son, the Emperor Suzhong, and now Emperor Daizong was on the throne. He succeeded in recovering the capital from the rebels, but did so by accommodating several warlords. Food was scarce and people were starving.
Reader's Companion
The Essence of the Verse
Classical Chinese poetry thrives on Concision and Ambiguity. Without tense or number, the words create a timeless space where the reader becomes the co-creator of the poem's meaning.
Reading Between the Lines
Look for Contrasts: light and shadow, movement and stillness. Don't just translate the words; feel the Yijing (artistic conception) that lingers long after the last character.
- Farewell to Magistrate Qi Departing for Dongyang
- Seeing Off a Friend Exiled to Wuxi
- Seeing Off Marshal Zhao to Hongzhou's Military Secretariat
- Inscribed on Duke Su Xu's Forest Pavilion
- Seeing a Guest Off to Jiangning
- Farewell to Zhang Dan's River Journey Back to Beihai
- The Summit Temple
- <Prelude to Water Melody> Sent to Ziyou on Mid-autumn Festival
- Invitation to Wine
- Question and Answer in the Mountains
- Cold sheet
- Coming Home ( Returning Home )
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