Looking Down in a Spring-rain on the Course From Fairy-mountain Palace to the Pavilion of Increase Harmonizing the Emperor's Poem
- Poetry of Wang Wei

《奉和圣制从蓬莱向兴庆阁道中留春雨中春望之作应制》

- Last updated: 2024-05-07 18:04:52

中文原文

渭水自萦秦塞曲，黄山旧绕汉宫斜。

銮舆迥出千门柳，阁道回看上苑花。

云里帝城双凤阙，雨中春树万人家。

为乘阳气行时令，不是宸游玩物华。

English Translation

Round a turn of the Qin Fortress winds the Wei River,

And Yellow Mountain foot-hills enclose the Court of China;

Past the South Gate willows comes the Car of Many Bells

On the upper Palace-Garden Road-a solid length of blossom;

A Forbidden City roof holds two phoenixes in cloud;

The foliage of spring shelters multitudes from rain;

And now, when the heavens are propitious for action,

Here is our Emperor ready-no wasteful wanderer.

Seven-character-regular-verse

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