English Rendering
Chasing dancers, it wafts their light sleeves in flight,
Bearing songs that around the rafters take flight.
It moves branches, creating a chaos of shade,
Blows blossoms, sending their fragrance far conveyed.
In Response to the Prince of Wei: Ode to the Wind
- Poetry of Yu Shinan
《奉和咏风应魏王教》
Original Text (中文原文)
逐舞飘轻袖，传歌共绕梁。
动枝生乱影，吹花送远香。
Analysis & Context
This poem was composed during the early Tang Dynasty by Yu Shinan, one of the "Four Great Poets of the Early Tang," renowned for his elegant and refined literary style. Prince Li Tai of Wei once wrote "Ode to the Wind" and commanded his courtiers to compose response poems. Yu Shinan wrote this piece as an imperial court poem (应制诗). The entire poem uses the movement of the wind to depict dancing sleeves, songs, shadows of branches, and the scent of flowers. It is both a tribute to the natural wind and an evocation of the atmosphere of an elegant court banquet, reflecting the characteristics of imperial court poetry—embellished language, harmonious tone, and refined artistry.
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.
- Marching Beyond the Frontier
- Ode to the Dance
- Song of the Young Gallants' Tryst
- In Response to the Prince of Wei: Ode to the Wind
- Spring Night
- To the Firefly
- 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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