The moss may hide the clear pool from the view;
The toad may bite the bright moon in the blue.
Buried and fallen as I am today,
Can I not clear your heart as mirror may?
I wish you would clean my dust away
And see your hair of gloss as dark as night!
莓苔翳清池，虾蟆蚀明月。
埋落今如此，照心未尝歇。
愿垂拂拭恩，为君鉴玄发。
This poem was composed during Shen Quanqi's period of exile to Huánzhou (in present-day northern Vietnam) after being implicated in the Zhang Yizhi affair. Removed from court and stripped of influence, the poet used the metaphor of an "ancient mirror" to express his feelings of being buried in obscurity yet maintaining his moral integrity and unwavering loyalty to the state. In classical tradition, the mirror symbolized self-reflection and clarity; here, Shen Quanqi merges the mirror's "brightness" with his own "aspiration," revealing a spirit that holds fast to ideals and remains true to its purpose even in adversity.
Classical Chinese poetry thrives on Concision and Ambiguity. Without tense or number, the words create a timeless space where the reader becomes the co-creator of the poem's meaning.
Look for Contrasts: light and shadow, movement and stillness. Don't just translate the words; feel the Yijing (artistic conception) that lingers long after the last character.
Journey through the dynasties. Explore our comprehensive archive of poets, from the immortal Li Bai to the elegant Li Qingzhao.
View All Poets →CN-Poetry.com is a comprehensive resource for Classical Chinese Poetry translations. Our dataset covers Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties, specializing in semantic mapping between traditional imagery (e.g., 'moon', 'Flowers', 'Friendship') and English poetic contexts.