The Five Greybeard-Like Peaks of Mount Lu Viewed from Afar
- Poetry of Li Bai (Li Po)

《望庐山五老峰》

By Li Bai (Li Po)

English Translation

Southeast of Mountain Lu, Five Peaks of Greybeard stand

As golden lotus carved by Heaven's azure hand.

If I could drink in beauty of the Rivers Nine,

Here I would make my nest amid the cloud and pine.

中文原文( Chinese )

庐山东南五老峰，青天削出金芙蓉。

九江秀色可揽结，吾将此地巢云松。

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.

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