In Her Quiet Window
- Poetry of Wang Changling

《闺怨》

- Last updated: 2024-05-13 09:56:24

In Her Quiet Window by Wang Changling
中文原文

闺中少妇不知愁，春日凝妆上翠楼。

忽见陌头杨柳色，悔教夫婿觅封侯。

English Translation

Too young to have learned what sorrow means,

Attired for spring, she climbs to her high chamber....

The new green of the street-willows is wounding her heart --

Just for a title she sent him to war.

Seven-character-quatrain

Wang Changling: 王昌龄(AD698-757),he's a great poet in Tang dynasty.He's good at writing those heroic and warlike poems,but sometimes,he always writes some love poems.

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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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