Song of Qiupu XV
- Poetry of Li Bai (Li Po)
《秋浦歌 · 其十五》
English Translation
My whitening hair would make a long long rope,
In China would there be so much woe?
Look into the mirror, hold no hope!
Where comes the autumn frost, I don’t know!
This poem is the fifteenth in Li Bai's "Autumn River" series, composed around 754 CE when the poet was over fifty. More than a decade had passed since his dismissal from Chang'an ("golden dismissal"), and his once-grand political ambitions had repeatedly foundered against reality. This work crystallizes his late-life mentality, beginning with thunderous exaggeration that elevates personal decline and inescapable sorrow to a breathtaking aesthetic height.
中文原文( Chinese )
白发三千丈，缘愁似箇长？
不知明镜里，何处得秋霜！
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- 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.