Ascending the Snow-White Peak
- Poetry of Li Bai (Li Po)
Ascending from the west the PeakS now-White,
Not till the sun goes down I reach its height.
The snow-white MorningStar teIls me to wait
Until he opens the Celestial Gate.
I wish to ride cold wind and floating cloud
To touch the moon and dwarf all mountains proud.
But once I left behind the Western land,
Could I return to the summit where I stand?
Scholarly consensus on the composition date of this poem by Li Bai, the preeminent Tang-dynasty poet, is divided into two views: it is believed to have been written either during his court summons to Chang’an in the first year of the Tianbao reign (742 CE) or in his first sojourn in Chang’an in the 18th and 19th years of the Kaiyuan reign (730–731 CE). Through depictions of the poet ascending Mount Taibai to converse with the Taibai Star and fantasizing about a spiritual journey to the celestial realm, the poem captures the mountain’s magnificent, cloud-piercing grandeur, while also voicing his discontent with the mortal world and his melancholy over the unfulfillment of his political ideals.
西上太白峰，夕阳穷登攀。
太白与我语，为我开天关。
愿乘泠风去，直出浮云间。
举手可近月，前行若无山。
一别武功去，何时复见还。
- 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.
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