The white roses withered
- Poetry of Nalan Xingde

《酒泉子》

- Last updated: 2024-03-24 15:34:24

中文原文

谢却荼蘼，一片月明如水。

篆香消，犹未睡，早鸦啼。

嫩寒无赖罗衣薄，休傍阑干角。

最愁人，灯欲落，雁还飞。

English Translation

The white roses withered

in a moonlit evening.

Buddhist incense disappeared

long ago,but i was still awaken.

crows cawed,a new day of missing you.

Cold air seeped into my shirt,

tired of leaning on the balustrade.

The candle was gonna burn out,

but the wild geese were still flying.

Where are you?My sexiest baby.

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