Hearing Squire Li Had Gone Fishing, I Sent Him This Poem
- Poetry of Yu Xuanji

《闻李端公垂钓回寄赠》
Hearing Squire Li Had Gone Fishing, I Sent Him This Poem by Yu Xuanji
English Translation

No limit to the lotuses' fragrance

they match the color of your summer clothes

my darling, don't pole your boat

into places you can't get back from

I wish we could match the affection

of all those mandarin ducks

swimming around in pairs

close by your fishing rock.

Seven-character poem

Li Duan (743-782) was a poet. And his friend Lu Lun (737-799) was also a poet. Lu wrote a parting poem for his friend Li entitled 李端公. Somehow, Yu Xuanji has learned that Li Duan liked to fish. And from what we have seen, Yu doesn't miss a chance to go fishing. So she writes Li Duan, now dead some 80 years, this poem. And that's all we know. A ruan (阮) is an ancient musical instrument and so becomes a symbol for poetry which achieved a height to which Yu's cannot reach.

中文原文( Chinese )

无限荷香染暑衣，阮郎何处弄船归？

自惭不及鸳鸯侣，犹得双双近钓矶。

- Last updated: 2024-12-25 21:27:50
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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.

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