Ancient Air: A Northern Belle
- Poetry of Li Bai (Li Po)
There is a northern belle fair as can be;
Her tower seems to merge with clouds high.
Her eyes are brighter than the moon bright;
Her smile would delight a whole town with delight.
She often fears the blue grass may turn sere;
She sits and sighs when blows the autumn drear.
She plays sad music with her fingers fair,
And rises at dawn, sighing in despair.
How can she not meet with a lord full of grace,
Riding with him on a double phenix in the sky!
This poem is the twenty-seventh in Li Bai's series of Ancient Airs (59 poems), though its exact date of composition remains unknown. Using the metaphor of a beautiful woman from the Yan-Zhao region grieving over her fading youth, the poet symbolizes the lament of a talented individual unrecognized and unused by the world. Endowed with extraordinary talent, Li Bai himself was never consistently entrusted with significant responsibilities by the court, leading to a frustrated official career. Thus, he often used the image of a fading beauty to express his inner resentment and solitude. Written against this intellectual backdrop, the poem conveys the poet's profound sigh over the difficulty of finding a true appreciator and realizing his lofty aspirations.
燕赵有秀色，绮楼青云端。
眉目艳皎月，一笑倾城欢。
常恐碧草晚，坐泣秋风寒。
纤手怨玉琴，清晨起长叹。
焉得偶君子，共乘双飞鸾。
- 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.