On Leaving Guijiang Again to Xue and Liu
- Poetry of Liu Changqing

《江州重别薛六柳八二员外》

- Last updated: 2024-05-08 20:08:01

中文原文

生涯岂料承优诏，世事空知学醉歌。

江上月明胡雁过，淮南木落楚山多。

寄身且喜沧洲近，顾影无如白发何。

今日龙钟人共老，愧君犹遣慎风波。

English Translation

Dare I, at my age, accept my summons,

Knowing of the world's ways only wine and song?....

Over the moon-edged river come wildgeese from the Tartars;

And the thinner the leaves along the Huai, the wider the southern mountains....

I ought to be glad to take my old bones back to the capital,

But what am I good for in that world, with my few white hairs?....

As bent and decrepit as you are, I am ashamed to thank you,

When you caution me that I may encounter thunderbolts.

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