To my friend
- Poetry of Xue Tao

《送友人》

- Last updated: 2024-03-15 17:40:00

中文原文

水国蒹葭夜有霜，月寒山色共苍苍。

谁言千里自今夕，离梦杳如关塞长。

English Translation

Moonshine is like frost covers the reeds,

on the riverbank,i only see a blue silhouette.

They say our friendship won't keep its holy creeds.

my dream still wanders on the ferry we last met.

By Xue Tao

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