Admiring Willows
- Poetry of Yu Xuanji

《折杨柳》
Admiring Willows by Yu Xuanji
中文原文( Chinese )

朝朝送别泣花钿，折尽春风杨柳烟。

愿得西山无树木，免教人作泪悬悬。

English Translation

Every morning a farewell, crying into my hair.

Admiring how spring's last winds shake willows into smoke.

I'm willing for West Mountain to be bare of all its trees,

If it will teach men to do their work far, far from tears.

This is the last poem we have of Yu Xuanji. It is also one of the last she wrote. "Every morning" is only a "farewell" if you know you will be leaving and not coming back. I think the image of West Mountain's bareness is also an emptiness of death.

- Last updated: 2024-12-25 21:06:37
· Pre： No sooner the jade buds are turned to rosy lips
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

© 2024 CN-Poetry.com Chinese Poems in English