English Rendering
Chrysanthemums in bloom-as gaunt as ever;
peonies, leaves falling off; seem completely withered.
A locust, frozen nearly to death,
clings desperately to a cold branch.
Rising Early
- Poetry of Yang Wanli
《早起》
Original Text (中文原文)
黄菊花繁依旧臞，牡丹叶落恰如枯。
霜中蚱蜢冻欲死，紧抱寒梢不放渠。
Analysis & Context
By Yang Wanli
Reader's Companion
The Essence of the Verse
Classical Chinese poetry thrives on Concision and Ambiguity. Without tense or number, the words create a timeless space where the reader becomes the co-creator of the poem's meaning.
Reading Between the Lines
Look for Contrasts: light and shadow, movement and stillness. Don't just translate the words; feel the Yijing (artistic conception) that lingers long after the last character.
- Morning Meal at Qi's Inn, Songyuan
- Evening Walk in Autumn Cool
- Reply to Tang Shudu's Snow Poem
- Chasing Coolness on a Summer Night
- The Young Willow
- Sympathy for the Peasants
- The Summit Temple
- <Prelude to Water Melody> Sent to Ziyou on Mid-autumn Festival
- Invitation to Wine
- Question and Answer in the Mountains
- Cold sheet
- Coming Home ( Returning Home )
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