Lean on the balustrade
- Poetry of Liu Yong

《蝶恋花》

- Last updated: 2023-12-21 22:58:20

中文原文

伫倚危楼风细细，望极春愁，黯黯生天际。

草色烟光残照里，无言谁会凭栏意？

拟把疏狂图一醉，对酒当歌，强乐还无味。

衣带渐宽终不悔，为伊消得有憔悴。

English Translation

Lean on the balustrade,wind blows coldly.

stare afar at this withering spring,sadness surges.

On the grass which shone by the sunset,

who would know what i'm thinking about?

I try to get drunk in this day,i tried.

sing with the wine,but i never truly feel the happiness.

With the languishing body,my shirt becomes so small to me,

but if i do this,so i can yearn for you everyday,i don't regret.

By Liu Yong

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