Hearing a Bamboo Flute on a Spring Night in Luoyang
- Poetry of Li Bai (Li Po)
《春夜洛城闻笛》
English Translation
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?
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.
中文原文( Chinese )
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。
- 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.