On Climbing in Nanjing to the Terrace of Phoenixes
- Poetry of Li Bai (Li Po)
Phoenixes that played here once, so that the place was named for them,
Have abandoned it now to this desolate river;
The paths of Wu Palace are crooked with weeds;
The garments of Qin are ancient dust.
...Like this green horizon halving the Three Peaks,
Like this Island of White Egrets dividing the river,
A cloud has arisen between the Light of Heaven and me,
To hide his city from my melancholy heart.
Seven-character-regular-verse
This poem was composed in 747 AD (the sixth year of the Tianbao era), when Li Bai visited Jinling (modern-day Nanjing) and ascended the Phoenix Terrace, filled with deep emotions. In his youth, Li Bai had climbed the Yellow Crane Tower intending to compose a poem, but upon seeing Cui Hao's Yellow Crane Tower already inscribed there, he lamented, "The scene before me defies description, for Cui Hao's poem stands above." This memory stayed with him, and now, on the Phoenix Terrace, he borrowed Cui Hao's rhyme scheme to write this profound and reflective work. Jinling, once the capital of six dynasties, inspired Li Bai to reflect on the rise and fall of history and express his concerns for the state of the nation. The poem masterfully blends social change, natural scenery, historical events, and personal emotions, creating a grand and far-reaching vision.
凤凰台上凤凰游，凤去台空江自流。
吴宫花草埋幽径，晋代衣冠成古丘。
三山半落青天外，二水中分白鹭洲。
总为浮云能蔽日，长安不见使人愁。
- 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.