Sit alone
- Poetry of Zhu Shuzhen

《减字木兰花》

- Last updated: 2024-03-17 18:52:20

中文原文

独行独坐，独倡独酬还独卧。

矗立伤神，无奈轻寒著摸人。

此情谁见，泪洗残妆无一半。

愁病相仍，剔尽寒灯梦不成。

English Translation

Sit alone,walk alone

drink alone,sleep alone.

stand here as a ghost,

even the ghost also would feel heartbroken.

Cry alone,smile alone,

wander alone,speak alone,

twinkle here as a candlelight,

even the candlelight also wanna catch your figure.

By Zhu Shuzhen

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