The Ancient Mirror
- Poetry of Shen Quanqi

《古镜》
The Ancient Mirror by Shen Quanqi
English Translation

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!

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.

中文原文( Chinese )

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。

· Pre： Beyond Seeing
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

© CN-Poetry.com Chinese Poems in English