An Inscription for Chenbiao Pavilion at Jingkou
- Poetry of Xin Qiji

《生查子·题京口郡治尘表亭》

- Last updated: 2024-04-06 20:11:20

中文原文

悠悠万世功，矻矻当年苦。

鱼自入深渊，人自居平土。

红日又西沉，白浪长东去。

不是望金山，我自思量禹。

English Translation

Great deeds live on ten thousand generations:

Hard he toiled in ancient times

That fish might plunge in the vast deep

And men dwell on the plain.

The red sun sets once more in the west,

White billows surge endlessly east;

My eyes are not fixed on the Mount of Gold

But my thoughts turn to King Yu.

By Xin Qiji

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