The Silk Spinner
- Poetry of Li Bai (Li Po)

《荆州歌》

- Last updated: 2024-03-20 14:31:33

中文原文

白帝城边足风波，瞿塘五月谁敢过。

荆州麦熟茧成蛾，缲丝忆君头绪多。

拨谷飞鸣奈妾何。

English Translation

The White King@ Town's seen many shipwrecks on the sands.

Who dare to sail through Three Gorges in the fifth moon?

The wheat is ripe, the silkworm has made its cocoon.

My thoughts of you are endless as the silken strands.

The cuckoos sing:"Go Home!" When will you come to homeland?

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