Cold Food Festival
- Poetry of Zeng Gong
《寒食》
English Translation
A lone banner dissolves into the world's rim,
Flower-blind gardens mock spring's hymn.
Only tavern drunks still trade in coins,
Their folk songs graffiti the sunset's loins.
Composed during Emperor Shenzong's reign when Zeng Gong was serving away from his homeland, this poem reflects on the Cold Food Festival (寒食节) - an important traditional occasion originally marked by fire prohibition, cold meals, and ancestral tomb-sweeping that later evolved into a spring outing celebration. Stranded in a foreign land, unable to reunite with family or participate in customary rituals, the poet conveys profound loneliness and displacement through this seasonal meditation.
中文原文( Chinese )
一麾飘泊在天涯，寒食园林不见花。
唯有市亭酤酒客，俚歌声到日西斜。
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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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