Reply to Tang Shudu's Snow Poem
- Poetry of Yang Wanli
"Leisure" they say—yet leisure never stays,
Secret cares haunt my mind in countless ways.
I rise, cloak-draped, hearing snow's nightly song,
Watch moonlit flakes before the dawn's new throng.
Plum boughs seem lonelier in this frozen air,
My hair—like reed-thatch—bares solitude's despair.
Snowflakes know not the sorrows humans keep,
In wind they frolic, swirling in playful heap.
Composed during Yang Wanli's late years, this lyric exemplifies Southern Song literati's snow-viewing tradition—where nature observation becomes existential meditation. Written in response to a friend's poem, it transcends mere description to reveal the paradox of "leisure without repose," blending crystalline imagery with mortal fragility in signature Chengzhai Style.
道得闲来尽未闲，颇缘幽事搅心间。
卧听雪作披衣起，不待天明带月看。
更觉梅枝殊摘索，只惊蓬鬓却羁单。
飞花岂解知人意，风里时时戏作团。
- 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.