Midnight Song of the Four Seasons: Summer
- Poetry of Lu Guimeng
Orchid eyes raise slanting paths in view,
Warbler lips mirror flowers aging through.
The golden dragon leaks its water full,
Jade wells break ice early, refreshing and cool.
Originally a Yuefu (乐府) title from the Southern Dynasties, belonging to the "Songs of Wu" (吴声歌曲) tradition, Midnight Song of the Four Seasons traditionally uses spring, summer, autumn, and winter scenery to reflect folk life, emotions, and seasonal rhythms. Lu Guimeng inherited this theme and composed his own set of poems, infusing them with a literati’s elegance and refined imagery. This "Summer Song" is one of them, focusing on summer scenery and seasonal atmosphere while subtly conveying the poet’s state of mind. Living in the turbulent late Tang, Lu retreated to Jiangnan, expressing his feelings through poetry. He excelled at finding depth in minor details, and this poem is a typical example.
兰眼抬路斜，莺唇映花老。
金龙倾漏尽，玉井敲冰早。
- 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.