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.
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。
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.
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.
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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