In the Temple of the First King of Shu
- Poetry of Liu Yuxi

《蜀先主庙》

- Last updated: 2024-03-16 15:26:36

中文原文

天地英雄气，千秋尚凛然。

势分三足鼎，业复五铢钱。

得相能开国，生儿不象贤。

凄凉蜀故妓，来舞魏宫前。

English Translation

Even in this world the spirit of a hero

Lives and reigns for thousands of years.

You were the firmest of the pot's three legs;

It was you who maintained the honour of the currency;

You chose a great premier to magnify your kingdom....

And yet you had a son so little like his father

That girls of your country were taken captive

To dance in the palace of the King of Wei.

Five-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