Dawn View Afloat
- Poetry of Meng Haoran
I sail and gaze southeast, hills green and blue;
A water-land where distant peaks are few.
Ships large and small vie for a speedy race;
They come and go, winds helping tides apace.
“Where are you going?” — “To the Bridge of Stone.”
I watch flushed clouds that with the dawn have grown.
They look like Crimson Wall against the sky,
Where fairies dwell, in hours passing by.
This poem was composed during Meng Haoran’s travels in the Wu and Yue regions, specifically during a boat journey along the Cao'e and Shan Rivers towards Mount Tiantai. During the Kaiyuan era, after facing disappointment in his pursuit of an official career in Chang'an, Meng Haoran turned his life's aspirations towards the landscapes of the southeast. This journey to Mount Tiantai vividly embodies his spiritual journey of "seeking the Way through mountains and rivers."
挂席东南望，青山水国遥。
舳舻争利涉，来往接风潮。
问我今何适？天台访石桥。
坐看霞色晓，疑是赤城标。
- 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.