Recalling Old Journeys in Wanling
- Poetry of Lu Guimeng
I remember the fine land of Lingyang in bygone days,
With Hsieh Tiao's green hills and Li Bai's towers ablaze.
Only the thoughts on the stream at sunset still stay—
A tavern sign's shadow falls where spring streams flow away.
This poem was written by Lu Guimeng in remembrance of his past travels in Xuancheng. Wanling, present-day Xuancheng in Anhui, has since ancient times been a renowned scenic area in Jiangnan, home to such famous sites as Lingyang Mountain, Wanxi Stream, and Juxi Stream. During the Southern Qi Dynasty, Xie Tiao served as governor of Xuancheng and built "Xie's Tower"; later generations, honoring his landscape poetry, acclaimed him as "the ancestor of landscape poetry." In the High Tang, Li Bai also visited Xuancheng, climbed Xie's Tower multiple times, and left behind widely cherished verses. Living in the late Tang—a time of turmoil and intense factional strife—Lu Guimeng did not advance in official career and often sought solace in landscapes with friends like Pi Rixiu, expressing his feelings through poetry. In this short poem, he recalls past travels, using scenery and historical sites to convey his admiration for earlier worthies and lament his own life circumstances.
陵阳佳地昔年游，谢脁青山李白楼。
唯有日斜溪上思，酒旗风影落春流。
- 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.
- Lodging by Riverside Tower
- Along the River for Flowers Alone I
- The Cottage by the Stream
- The Lotus-Gathering Song
- Hymns of Harmony: Song of a Banished Beauty
- Imitation: Lament of a Courtesan
- The Bronze Terrace Courtesan
- Song of the Roosting Crows I
- Song of the Roosting Crows II
- Su Wu