Riverside Daffodils
- Poetry of Su Shi

《临江仙·夜归临皋》
Riverside Daffodils by Su Shi
English Translation

Drinking at Eastern Slope by night,

I sober, then get drunk again.

When I come back, it's near midnight,

I bear the thunder of my houseboy's snore;

I knock but no one answers the door.

What can I do but, leaning on my cane,

Listen to the river's refrain?

I long regret I am not master of my own.

When can I ignore the hums of up and down?

In the still night the soft winds quiver

On ripples of the river.

From now on I would vanish with my little boat;

For the rest of my life on the sea I would float.

He was in the third year here as a banished political convict. An old legend says that when the town’s people found the poet’s clothing hanging on a tree next morning and his boat out of sight, they feared he had drifted in his little boat down the Yangtze River. They rushed to his home only to find him sleeping off a hang-over. Being Su Dongpo, he’d find his way back from a distressful moment in no time. Afterall, he’s more a man of the world than a Daoist in solitude, as much as he appreciated Daoism.

中文原文( Chinese )

夜饮东坡醒复醉，归来仿佛三更。

家童鼻息已雷鸣。

敲门都不应，倚杖听江声。

长恨此身非我有，何时忘却营营？

夜阑风静縠纹平。

小舟从此逝，江海寄余生。

- Last updated: 2025-05-30 09:40:24
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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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