The Beauty Born in South
- Poetry of Li Bai (Li Po)
《美人出南国》
English Translation
The Beauty comes from South,
Blooming like lotus flower.
Her teeth brighten her mouth,
She's lofty like a tower.
Long since palace maids vied
To outshine beaming eyes.
Come back to riverside,
Her songs turn to sad sighs.
This poem adopts an extended metaphor in its entirety and articulates the poet’s profound grief and pent-up melancholy over the frustration of his unfulfilled political aspirations within the traditional literary trope of a beauty fading with age.
中文原文( Chinese )
美人出南国。灼灼芙蓉姿。
皓齿终不发。芳心空自持。
由来紫宫女。共妒青蛾眉。
归去潇湘沚。沉吟何足悲。
Pre： Invitation to Wine
Next：While Journeying
- 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
- A Boat in Spring on Jo-Ya Lake
- Night at Longxing Temple
- The Abbot’s Hut
- Passing by Monk Rong’s Hermitage
- Farewell to Magistrate Jia Heng
- Winter Night at My Lodging: To Imperial Archivist Chu
- Night in the Taoist Cosmos
- The Temple in Crimson Mist
- Inscription at Zhao Yin Temple: Elder Xuan’s Chamber
- Yiai Temple
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