By the river
- Poetry of Wen Tingyun

《偶游》

- Last updated: 2024-04-12 10:02:36

中文原文

曲巷斜临一水间，小门终日不开关。

红珠斗帐樱桃熟，金尾屏风孔雀闲。

云髻几迷芳草蝶，额黄无限夕阳山。

与君便是鸳鸯侣，休向人间觅往还。

English Translation

By the river,you have a small mansion.

close the door,but the cherry flowers still bloom.

Lean against the painting screen,

you stilly watch the sunset and tease the fireworm.

Live in the heaven you never expectedly wish to,

just wish his soul can whisper to you every night in your dream.

By Wen Tingyun

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