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

《望庐山五老峰》

- Last updated: 2024-03-24 16:53:13

中文原文

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。

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.

By Li Bai (Li Po)

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