An Early Audience at the Palace of Light, Harmonizing Secretary Jia Zhi's Poem
- Poetry of Wang Wei
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.
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.
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。
- 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.