The red-capped Cock-Man has just announced morning;
The Keeper of the Robes brings Jade-Cloud Furs;
Heaven's nine doors reveal the palace and its courtyards;
And the coats of many countries bow to the Pearl Crown.
Sunshine has entered the giants' carven palms;
Incense wreathes the Dragon Robe:
The audience adjourns-and the five-coloured edict
Sets girdle-beads clinking toward the Lake of the Phoenix.
绛帻鸡人送晓筹， 尚衣方进翠云裘。
九天阊阖开宫殿， 万国衣冠拜冕旒。
日色才临仙掌动， 香烟欲傍衮龙浮。
朝罢须裁五色诏， 佩声归向凤池头。
Composed in late spring 738 AD during Emperor Xuanzong's Qianyuan era, this poem was written when Wang Wei served as Zhongshu Sheren (Secretarial Court Official) at the height of his political and literary career. Inspired by Jia Zhi's original poem "Early Court at Daming Palace Presented to Colleagues from Two Departments," Wang created this masterful response - though not following the original rhyme scheme, it perfectly captures the solemn grandeur of the imperial morning audience through three clear phases: pre-court preparations, the audience itself, and post-court activities.
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.
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