On Passing Jia Yi's House in Changsha
- Poetry of Liu Changqing

《长沙过贾谊宅》

- Last updated: 2024-04-25 12:07:09

中文原文

三年谪宦此栖迟，万古惟留楚客悲。

秋草独寻人去后，寒林空见日斜时。

汉文有道恩犹薄，湘水无情吊岂知？

寂寂江山摇落处，怜君何事到天涯！

English Translation

Here, where you spent your three years' exile,

To be mourned in Chu ten thousand years,

Can I trace your footprint in the autumn grass --

Or only slanting sunlight through the bleak woods?

If even good Emperor Wen was cold-hearted,

Could you hope that the dull river Xiang would understand you,

These desolate waters, these taciturn mountains,

When you came, like me, so far away?

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