Wide River
- Poetry of Pre-Qin Poetry

《汉广》

- Last updated: 2024-03-22 16:10:43

Wide River by Pre-Qin Poetry
中文原文

南有乔木，不可休思。汉有游女，不可求思。汉之广矣，不可泳思。

江之永矣，不可方思。

翘翘错薪，言刈其楚。之子于归，言秣其马。汉之广矣，不可泳思。

江之永矣，不可方思。

翘翘错薪，言刈其蒌。之子于归。言秣其驹。汉之广矣，不可泳思。

江之永矣，不可方思。

English Translation

Tall trees in southern mountain,

nowhere i can enjoy the cool.

A fishing girl on the Han River,

nowhere i can show my passion.

Wide wide river,hard to ferry through.

Wide wide river,hard to row through.


Grass grows strong in the wood,

i cut the thorns and twigs all the day.

She's gonna be the bride with the hood,

i breed her horse and cats all the day.

Wide wide river,hard to ferry through.

Wide wide river,hard to row through.


Grass grows strong in the wood,

i pluck the songs and pansies on dark way

She's gonna be the bride with the hood,

i breed her pony and kitten in tender way.

Wide wide river,hard to ferry through.

Wide wide river,hard to row through.

By Anonymous

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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.

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