How Many Tears (Gazing at the South)
- Poetry of Li Yu

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.

• A Song of the Spring Palace
• Poems on Army Life IV
• Poems on Army Life V
• West Palace, Autumn
• Hearing the River-Song
• The Lotus Gatherers

• A Song of Changgan
• The Summit Temple
• <Prelude to Water Melody> Sent to Ziyou on Mid-autumn Festival
• Invitation to Wine
• Question and Answer in the Mountains
• Cold sheet