Clear Stream, Afloat in a Boat
- Poetry of Zhang Xu

《清溪泛舟》
Clear Stream, Afloat in a Boat by Zhang Xu
English Translation

Wanderers lean hard on their oars and,

in the dusk, they sing a sailor's song.

Laughing, I throw a rope around the moon in the river.

In this clear radiance, even I'm not bored.

Zhang Xu, with Henry Thoreau, is high on my list of people to take a canoe trip with. People like that take their pleasure seriously enough to get some good out of it. Note that both sing sailor's songs when working an oar. I, too, can sing.

中文原文( Chinese )

旅人倚征棹，薄暮起劳歌。

笑揽清溪月，清辉不厌多。

- Last updated: 2025-05-03 15:46:47
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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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