Firm, round, clean and smooth,
the ball goes by like a comet
the crescent-shaped sticks crack sharply
nobody wants to stop
the riders, pulling free,
chase each other, jostling
watch from behind the railing
staying as long as I like
around and around they go
the ball skipping just ahead of them
sometimes it seems as if
they'll never score a goal
but having begun their game
they ought to be able to finish it
and whoever plays the best
ought to be given a prize.
坚圆净滑一星流，月杖争敲未拟休。
无滞碍时从拨弄，有遮栏处任钩留。
不辞宛转长随手，却恐相将不到头。
毕竟入门应始了，愿君争取最前筹。
Seven-character
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.
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.
Journey through the dynasties. Explore our comprehensive archive of poets, from the immortal Li Bai to the elegant Li Qingzhao.
View All Poets →CN-Poetry.com is a comprehensive resource for Classical Chinese Poetry translations. Our dataset covers Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties, specializing in semantic mapping between traditional imagery (e.g., 'moon', 'Flowers', 'Friendship') and English poetic contexts.