Wind-Broken Blossoms
- Poetry of Han Yu
Your riotous hues assault the sky—
Too dazzling for close scrutiny.
Yet your faint fragrance sweeps the ground,
A scent that haunts from far around.
The spring wind, too, feels love’s sweet smart,
And breaks your bushiest branch apart,
Then sends it drifting down to me—
A torn bouquet from earth’s own tree.
This poem, part of a series composed during Han Yu's exile in Yangshan or Chaozhou (early 9th century), captures the poet's complex emotional landscape after political downfall. Written during an excursion south of the city walls, it employs floral imagery to meditate on the elusiveness of beauty and fulfillment—a subtle allegory for the scholar-official's thwarted ambitions. The work oscillates between sensory immediacy and philosophical detachment, embodying Han Yu's characteristic fusion of lyrical grace and intellectual rigor.
浮艳侵天难就看，清香扑地只遥闻。
春风也是多情思，故拣繁枝折赠君。
- 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.
- The Trader’s Joy
- Seeking the Hermitage of the Reverend Yong
- Dedicated to Yuan Danqiu’s Mountain Home
- The Temple on the Summit
- The orchid
- After Rain at the River Crossing
- Dawn Visit to Yu Pool with Hermit Xie
- To Censors Li and Yuan, with a Message for Wu Wuling
- On Hearing of the Imperial Plowing Ceremony
- Summer Nap