English Rendering
They say it means a thriving year, this snow.
A thriving year — and what comes after, though?
Here in Changan, some have not bread nor fire.
Such signs are not a thing one should desire.
Snow
- Poetry of Luo Yin
《雪》#Hardships
Original Text (中文原文)
尽道丰年瑞，丰年事若何。
长安有贫者，为瑞不宜多。
Analysis & Context
This poem is a masterful work of social satire by the late Tang poet Luo Yin, who uses a simple object to critique the world. Renowned for his literary talent yet thwarted by his humble origins and unwillingness to flatter, Luo Yin "failed the imperial examinations ten times," a decades-long confinement that sharpened his acute sensitivity to the fickleness of human relations and the bitter hardships of the common people. The late Tang era was marked by corrupt governance, eunuch dominance, separatist warlords, and crushing taxes, leading to widespread displacement and countless deaths from cold and starvation.
Reader's Companion
The Essence of the Verse
Classical Chinese poetry thrives on Concision and Ambiguity. Without tense or number, the words create a timeless space where the reader becomes the co-creator of the poem's meaning.
Reading Between the Lines
Look for Contrasts: light and shadow, movement and stillness. Don't just translate the words; feel the Yijing (artistic conception) that lingers long after the last character.
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