English Rendering
Where tender grasses rim the stream
And deep boughs trill with mango-birds,
On the spring flood of last night's rain
The ferry-boat moves as though someone were poling.
At Chuzhou on the Western Stream
- Poetry of Wei Yingwu
《滁州西涧》
Original Text (中文原文)
独怜幽草涧边生，上有黄鹂深树鸣。
春潮带雨晚来急，野渡无人舟自横。
Analysis & Context
Seven-character-quatrain
Composed in 781 AD during Wei Yingwu's tenure as governor of Chuzhou, this poem was inspired by his excursions to the mountain streams west of the city. Written during a spring evening, it expresses the poet's serene temperament and reclusive ideals through natural imagery, while subtly revealing his unfulfilled political aspirations. This work stands among the finest examples of Tang landscape poetry.
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.
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