Treading on Grass: After Rain the Landscape’s Fair
- Poetry of Ouyang Xiu
After rain the landscape’s fair;
Spring divides its days with equal care.
A thousand flowers rival in their grace.
On painted beams new swallows nest in pairs,
While in a gilded cage a parrot pines for space.
The creeping fig still clings to the wall;
Moss overruns the courtyard, covering all.
From a few mansions floating songs are heard.
Suddenly old memories stir my heart—
Silent, I knit my eyebrows dark as jade uncurled.
Composed around 1054 during Ouyang Xiu's magistracy in Yiling, this lyric reflects his deepened understanding of human emotions after political exile. Adopting a courtesan's perspective with rare empathy, it captures solitary melancholy amid spring's vibrancy - a testament to Ouyang's innovative approach to women's interiority in Song poetry.
雨霁风光，春分天气，
千花百卉争明媚。
画梁新燕一双双，玉笼鹦鹉愁孤睡。
薜荔依墙，莓苔满地，
青楼几处歌声丽。
蓦然旧事上心来，无言敛皱眉山翠。
- 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.