The Double Ninth Festival Delayed by Rain
- Poetry of Yu Xuanji

《重阳阻雨》

- Last updated: 2024-05-28 15:35:41

中文原文

满庭黄菊篱边拆，两朵芙蓉镜里开。

落帽台前风雨阻，不知何处醉金杯。

English Translation

The courtyard is full of yellow chrysanthemums

all broken and drooping along the hedge

two flowers, hibiscus and image,

gape at each other's reflections

I put my hat back on the table—

no going out in this wind and rain

and I'm too tipsy to recall where

I put down my golden cup.

Seven-character poem

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