English Rendering
In picking lotus from that islet far,
You're often back to see the evening star.
Please don't send water splashing while you punt,
Or else the scarlet lotus dress you'll mar!
The Lotus Dock
- Poetry of Wang Wei
《莲花坞》
Original Text (中文原文)
日日采莲去，洲长多暮归。
弄篙莫溅水，畏湿红莲衣。
Analysis & Context
By Wang Wei
Reader's Companion
The Essence of the Verse
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.
Reading Between the Lines
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.
- Deer Enclosure
- An Early Audience at the Palace of Light, Harmonizing Secretary Jia Zhi's Poem
- Watching the Hunt
- The Lake Qi
- The Pepper Garden
- Mengcheng Mound
- The Summit Temple
- <Prelude to Water Melody> Sent to Ziyou on Mid-autumn Festival
- Invitation to Wine
- Question and Answer in the Mountains
- Cold sheet
- Coming Home ( Returning Home )
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