English Rendering
Bright green misty branches gently stroke the ground.
Spring thoughts come by towered shore just outside of town.
I ask you to read carefully these dissipated lines.
Poet powers from my palace days are still just fine.
Willows
- Poetry of Zhang Xu
《柳》
Original Text (中文原文)
濯濯烟条拂地垂，城边楼畔结春思。
请君细看风流意，未减灵和殿里时。
Analysis & Context
Zhang Xu is a clever man, a heavy drinker, a smasher of icons. The first line is as conventional as can be. The second gives no warning of what follows. The rest is as you find it here.
Reader's Companion
The Essence of the Verse
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.
Reading Between the Lines
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.
- Clear Stream, Afloat in a Boat
- Spring Outing, Coinciding with Rain
- Willows
- Spring Grasses
- Mountain Walk, Asking Guest to Stay
- Peach-blossom River
- The Summit Temple
- <Prelude to Water Melody> Sent to Ziyou on Mid-autumn Festival
- Invitation to Wine
- Question and Answer in the Mountains
- Cold sheet
- Coming Home ( Returning Home )
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