Buddhist Dancers
- Poetry of Wei Zhuang

《菩萨蛮·人人尽说江南好》

- Last updated: 2024-03-15 17:38:29

Buddhist Dancers by Wei Zhuang
中文原文

人人尽说江南好，游人只合江南老。

春水碧于天，画船听雨眠。

垆边人似月，皓腕凝霜雪。

未老莫还乡，还乡须断肠。

English Translation

All men will say the Southern land is fair,

A wanderer is willing to spend his whole life there.

He'd like to see spring water bluer than the sky 

And,listening to rain,in painted ship to lie.


The wine-shop waitress looks like the moon bright,

Like snow or frost congealed her arms are white.

Till he grows old,from South lands he won't part,

To leave this land for home would break his heart.

Wei Zhuang was considered one of the leaders of the "School among Flowers."In contrast to the omate rhetoric of other lyric poets of this School,his diction is simple and direct and explicit.In this lyric is revealed a Northerner's love for the beautiful Southern land.

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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.

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