A Painted Boat Carrying Wine (Picking Mulberries)
- Poetry of Ouyang Xiu

《采桑子·画船载酒西湖好》

- Last updated: 2024-03-24 17:06:58

中文原文

画船载酒西湖好，急管繁弦。

玉盏催传。稳泛平波任醉眠。

行云却在行舟下，空水澄鲜。

俯仰留连。疑是湖中别有天。

English Translation

A painted boat carrying wine- West Lake is good.

Urgent rhythms and pressing tunes,

A jade cup's imperious summons,

Gently floating on tranquil ripples, appointed Sleeping Drunk.

The moving clouds somehow are under the moving boat.

Empty water's clear and fresh,

Look up, look down, I linger on,

I feel as if here on this lake there is another heaven.

By Ouyang Xiu

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