<Song of Southern Country> Mume Blossoms for Yang Gongsu
- Poetry of Su Shi

《南乡子·梅花词和杨元素》

- Last updated: 2024-03-23 17:08:22

中文原文

寒雀满疏篱。争抱寒柯看玉蕤。忽见客来花下坐，惊飞。蹋散芳英落酒卮。

痛饮又能诗。坐客无毡醉不知。花尽酒阑春到也，离离。一点微酸已著枝。

English Translation

On the fence perch birds feeling cold,

To view the blooms of jade they dispute for branch old.

Seeing a guest sit under flowers, they fly up

And scatter petals over his wine cup.

Writing verses and drinking wine,

The guest knows not he's not sitting on felt fine.

Wine cup dried up, spring comes with fallen flower.

Leave here! The branch has felt a little sour.

By Su Shi

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