in Spring
- Poetry of Li Bai (Li Po)

《春思》

Five-character-ancient-verse

The poetic style is known to be of Yuefu Poetry, which refers to poems composed in the style of folk songs.

This poem is about the haunting thoughts of a soldier’s wife during a sunny spring day, whilst also carrying hopes of winning the war as soon as possible. It expresses the bitter thinking of a wife missing her husband as well as her faithful love. The entire poem expressed with simple, unpretentious words, each line fitting together, charmingly, vigorously, in a display of sophisticated elegance.

Composed during the Tang Dynasty, the exact year of this poem's creation remains uncertain, yet its emotional core aligns with Li Bai's other works on the theme of longing wives, expressing the sorrow of separation. The poem depicts a young wife in Qin longing for her husband guarding the distant frontier in Yan. Using natural scenery as a thread, it contrasts the different spring landscapes of the two regions, employing the image of the "spring breeze" to convey the melancholy born of separation. This work is not merely a chant of love but also reflects the historical reality of forced separation between soldiers and their wives due to warfare.

English Translation

Your grasses up north are as blue as jade,

Our mulberries here curve green-threaded branches;

And at last you think of returning home,

Now when my heart is almost broken....

O breeze of the spring, since I dare not know you,

Why part the silk curtains by my bed?

中文原文( Chinese )

燕草如碧丝，秦桑低绿枝。

当君怀归日，是妾断肠时。

春风不相识，何事入罗帏。

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.

Famous Chinese Poems

in Spring - Poetry of Li Bai (Li Po)

in Spring
- Poetry of Li Bai (Li Po)