South Storey - The Double Ninth Festival Beyond the Great Wall
- Poetry of Nalan Xingde

《南楼令·塞外重九》

English Rendering

Ancient trees lengthen into the autumn for man,

Floating duckweed swept past his ringlets.

It was a new Double Ninth Festival,

Curst and sad with fidgets.

I have a fund of the heart-rending arrival

In the midst of the wind and rain,

Striding down from the gable. 


How can I detain the aborted dream

Whence her sweet soil wept me out of sleep?

In such cold moon beam,

The bare bedding is destitute of her keep.

Sitting up to the raucous cries of crows in the falling frosts

Of all things, I should dream up my old fair wights.

South Storey - The Double Ninth Festival Beyond the Great Wall by Nalan Xingde
South Storey - The Double Ninth Festival Beyond the Great Wall by Nalan Xingde

Original Text (中文原文)

古木向人秋,惊蓬掠鬓稠。

是重阳、何处堪愁。

记得当年惆怅事,正风雨,下南楼。

断梦几能留,香魂一哭休。

怪凉蟾、空满衾裯。

霜落鸟啼浑不睡,偏想出,旧风流。

Analysis & Context

By Nalan Xingde

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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