You cheated me you'd come here
- Poetry of Li Shangyin

《来是空言去绝踪》

- Last updated: 2024-03-22 22:08:46

中文原文

来是空言去绝踪，月斜楼上五更钟。

梦为远别啼难唤，书被催成墨未浓。

蜡照半笼金翡翠，麝熏微度绣芙蓉。

刘郎已恨蓬山远，更隔蓬山一万重！

English Translation

You cheated me you'd come here,

the wind bells rang in the morning wind.

I waited for you from the night to dawn,

wrote some love poems and burned it at the end.

The left candle light glittered in my bedroom,

the fragrance of you orchids i could smell.

I've become the wanderer far from the rainbow.

but you're living in a place beyond the rainbow.

By Li Shangyin

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