English Rendering
Perhaps he’s afraid my wooden shoes will damage the moss.
I knocked on the door, but the door never opened.
It’s impossible to wall in the beauty of spring,
An apricot branch draped in red blossoms has crept over the wall.
Visiting a Private Garden without Success
- Poetry of Ye Shaoweng
《游园不值》
Original Text (中文原文)
应怜屐齿印苍苔，小扣柴扉久不开。
春色满园关不住，一枝红杏出墙来。
Analysis & Context
The last couplet is often reused in later works, its meaning recast as a sexual innuendo. The African-American author Richard Wright wrote two haikus which bear close resemblance to Ye's poem.
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.
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