To One Unnamed V
- Poetry of Li Shangyin

《無題之五》

- Last updated: 2024-03-22 22:18:02

中文原文

重帷深下莫愁堂，臥後清宵細細長。

神女生涯原是夢，小姑居處本無郎。

風波不信菱枝弱，月露誰教桂葉香。

直道相思了無益，未妨惆悵是清狂。

English Translation

There are many curtains in your care-free house,

Where rapture lasts the whole night long.

...What are the lives of angels but dreams

If they take no lovers into their rooms?

...Storms are ravishing the nut-horns,

Moon- dew sweetening cinnamon-leaves

I know well enough naught can come of this union,

Yet how it serves to ease my heart!

Seven-character-regular-verse

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