The Moon
- Poetry of Nalan Xingde

《蝶恋花》

- Last updated: 2024-03-24 15:45:01

中文原文

辛苦最怜天上月，一昔如环，昔昔都成玦。

若似月轮终皎洁，不辞冰雪为卿热。

无那尘缘容易绝，燕子依然，软踏帘钩说。

唱罢秋坟愁未歇，春丛认取双栖蝶。

English Translation

The moon is the saddest thing

which only has a day to hug full love.

If full moon can hang on the sky forever,

i'm willing to be the ice that thawed by your smile.

Time always changes too much thing,

the sparrow pecked clay over the stream.

In front of your tomb i hum lightly the serenade,

still you don't come back,only a blue butterfly stops at the iris.

By Nalan Xingde

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.

List of Chinese poets