English Rendering
From whose house comes the song of the jade flute unseen?
It fills the town of Luoyang,spread by wind of spring.
Tonight I hear the farewell song of Willows Green.
To whom the tune will not nostalgic feeling bring?
Hearing a Bamboo Flute on a Spring Night in Luoyang
- Poetry of Li Bai (Li Po)
《春夜洛城闻笛》
Original Text (中文原文)
谁家玉笛暗飞声，散入春风满洛城。
此夜曲中闻折柳，何人不起故园情。
Analysis & Context
The eastern capital during the Tang Dynasty.
This poem is a seven-character quatrain by the Tang dynasty poet Li Bai. This poem was written during his stay in Luoyang and reflects the poet’s deep homesickness after hearing the sound of a flute on a spring night. Having left his hometown in Sichuan over twenty years ago, Li Bai, a long-time wanderer, felt the ache of separation more acutely. The quiet spring night and the flute's melody stirred within him a profound longing for home.
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.
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