Two birds on the lake
- Poetry of Xue Tao

《池上双凫》

- Last updated: 2024-04-12 10:15:18

Two birds on the lake by Xue Tao
中文原文

双栖绿池上，朝去暮飞还。

更忆将雏日，同心莲叶间。

English Translation

Two birds on the limpid lake

fly away and come back together everyday.

I seem to see they whisper among the lotus,

and breed their children with all their love.

Xue Tao: 薛涛(AD768-832),she is a female poet in Tang dynasty.She lives in Chengdu city all her life,and makes many patrician friends.She loves to write poems in the peachy letter.People call this letter"The Xuetao Letter"

· Pre： Sunny twilight
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

© 2024 CN-Poetry.com Chinese Poems in English