The Yiinwu Pavilion
- Poetry of Yu Xuanji

《题隐雾亭》

- Last updated: 2024-05-27 10:21:59

中文原文

春花秋月入诗篇，白日清宵是散仙。

空卷珠帘不曾下，长移一榻对山眠。

English Translation

Blossoms of spring, the autumn moon—

you have to turn them into poems

the bright days, the clear nights—

you feel surrounded by floating gods

I rolled up the curtain idly

and never rolled it back

I moved my couch to face the mountains

and slept here from then on.

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