Tang Dynasty Poem: 乐游原

乐游原

向 晚 意 不 适 ，

xiàng wǎn yì bù shì 　

驱 车 登 古 原 。

qū chē dēng gǔ yuán 　

夕 阳 无 限 好 ，

xī yáng wú xiàn hǎo 　

只 是 近 黄 昏 ！

zhǐ shì jìn huāng hūn 　

Literal Translation:
Feelings of sadness this evening,
Drove to “Deng gu yuan”.
No matter how beautiful sunset is,
It is near dusk.

Author:
This poem was written by a Tang poet, Li Shan Yin (812-858). He specializes in writing Parallel Prose and poetry, the most famous poem “Qilu”.

Modern Translation:
The author was feeling rather melancholic this evening. He drove to Le You Yuan (a place of interest south of Chang An in China during his time, where palaces had been built here during the Western Han dynasty 206 BC–AD 9) for walk. The colour of sunset is very beautiful, but alas this beautiful sight is very short-lived, as it means that the night is near... very soon the sun will set and this beautiful sight would dissipate away.

My After-Thought:
This is a very well-known and popular poem in China, as it expresses the universal feelings common to every human being i.e. in life, there will  always be sorrow, as life is so transient... just like sunset and spring time cherry blossom, for example. Nothing stays the same, nothing is of permanence. Beauty and joy will fade. With the joy of birth, comes the eventual sorrow of death.

Makes me think of J. We had a beautiful Good Friday today. Perfect weather, and we enjoyed ourselves with the nature walk, admiring the flowers that are all now springing forth. The day is gone... leaving behind sweet memories, but still memories nevertheless. As parents, we can’t be with him forever. The joy of the day is put into perspective. He can’t live forever. No one can. What then is the meaning of life, of joy... everything is transient. Yet we rejoice, because we will that we will all meet together in heaven, as after death comes eternal life. The meaning of life eternity brings meaning to life.

The Bible says it is wise to consider the number of our days in Psalm 90:12: “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom”.

At the same time, it is wise to be content with what we have, and to thank God for gladness of heart, to appreciate and live in the presence:
“Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labour under the sun during the few days of life God has given him – for this is his lot. Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work – this is a gift of God. He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart” – Ecclesiaste 5:18-20

Here lies, to me truely, the meaning of life. God is the one who gives me the gladness of heart in this life, and the life to come, by sending His Son Jesus, who have conquered death, and gained victory over death. He rose on the third day, that we no longer have to fear for death.

Tang Dynasty Poem: 春晓 [chūn xiǎo]

春 晓

春 眠 不 觉 晓
chūn mián bù jué xiǎo

处 处 闻 啼 鸟
chù chù wén tí niǎo

夜 来 风 雨 声
yè lái fēng yǔ shēng

花 落 知 多 少
huā luò zhī duō shǎo

Literal Translation:
Sound asleep and unaware that it's soon dawn,
Everywhere the chirping sound of birds is heard (in the morning).
The sound of rain (heard) in the night,
(Wondering to self ) how many flowers have fallen.

Author:
This poem was written by a Tang poet, Meng Haoran (689-740), who came from the region of China near Xiangzhou Xiangyang (now Hubei Xiangfan). He had an elegant and refreshing style of writing, and wrote mainly of a secluded life in the country side.

Modern Translation:
Spring is beautiful, with the wonderfully intoxicating scent, and transforming scenery of landscape that is so mesmerizing. But what captured the heart of the poet most is the lively sounds that spring brings. The poet was asleep and before he knew, it was dawn (不知不觉已到凌晨). When the poet woke up from his sleep on a spring day morning, the first thing he heard was the chirping of birds.The melodious exchange of chirping sounds of birds that could be heard from everywhere far and near, was what that brought the poet most joy. At the same time, what mesmerized the poet even more was the episode of spring showers the night before. In the peaceful quietness of the spring night, the drizzling of the spring rain brought to people a powerful misty dream-like imagination. The poet wondered how many flowers have fallen as a result of the rain the night before. The deep green after the rain the night before brought forth the beauty, the freshness and the vivid liveliness of the early morning spring. The beauty of this poem is that the poet used very simple and plain language to illustrate for us the natural beauty of nature, like clear spring water breathing fresh air into our hearts, refreshing and mesmerizing us.

This is a very suitable and popular poem for children.

Tang Dynasty Poem: 江雪 [jiāng xuě]

江雪

千 山 鸟 飞 绝

qiān shān niǎo fēi jué

万 径 人 踪 灭

wàn jìng rén zōng miè

孤 舟 蓑 笠 翁

gū zhōu suō lì wēng

独 钓 寒 江 雪

dú diào hán jiāng xuě

Tang Dynasty Poem: 别董大 [bié dǒng dà]

别董大

千 里 黄 云 白 日 曛 ，

qiān lǐ huáng yún bái rì xūn

北 风 吹 雁 雪 纷 纷 。

běi fēng chuī yàn xuě fēn fēn

莫 愁 前 路 无 知 己 ，

mò chóu qián lù wú zhī jǐ

天 下 谁 人 不 识 君 。

tiān xià shuí rén bù shí jūn　

Literal Translation:
A thousand miles of grey clouds dimmed the sun,
North wind blowing on the geese and the snowflakes flying.
Worry not the road ahead without a close friend,
For who under heaven would not recognize a fine character.

Author:
This poem was written by a Tang dynasty poet called Gao Shi (702-765), who came from Wuzhou Yiwu, located in today’s Hebei Jing County in China. The poet is known to be a character untrammeled by formality and convention, a person who was uninhibited and was not bother about trifles. The poet roamed the earth half his life, and was very familiar with life at the borders.

Modern Translation:
The title of the poem means “Goodbye, Dong Da”. "Dong Da" is the name of a person, in this case, the friend of the poet. “White day” in ancient Chinese is a description of the sun. “Yellow clouds” in ancient Chinese is a description of grey clouds. The word “曛" means dim. The word "君" here means a gentleman, someone of good character, integrity and talent. The first two lines described the harsh and dismal weather conditions. It was a hasty turn between autumn and winter. Layers of grey clouds covered the whole boundless sky. Even the sun seemed dim and dismal, losing its radiance. It was snowing hard and the snowflakes were flying all about. Only the formation of the wild geese flying southwards under the cold blowing north wind was seen. It would have been natural to feel sentimental and sad to part under such bad weather condition, yet the tone of this poem is surprisngly bright and cheerful in the last two lines.

In the last two lines, the poet urged his friend, called Dong Da, not to worry about not being able to find another close friend in the future, for who would not have appreciated the good character of a person such as him. These two lines not only expressed the deep friendship that existed between the two, but it is a high praise by the poet for his close friend’s exemplary character and talent. It is also a sincere wish for the best for his friend’s future. It is a rare ability of the poet to be able to write a parting poem of such upbeatness.

Tang Dynasty Poem: 咏鹅 [yǒng é]

咏鹅

鹅 ， 鹅 ， 鹅

é 　 é 　 é

曲 项 向 天 歌

qū xiàng xiàng tiān gē

白 毛 浮 绿 水

bái máo fú lǜ shuǐ

红 掌 拨 清 波

hōng zhǎng bō qīng bō

Video Demonstration:

Literal Translation:
Goose, Goose, Goose
Bending neck up singing to the sky.
White feathers floating on the greenish water,
Red feet paddling out gentle ripples.

Author:
This poem was written by a Tang dynasty poet called Luo Bin Wang (approx. 640-684), who came from Wuzhou Yiwu, located in today’s Zhejiang region in China. The poet received very fine education from a young age, and had already made a name for himself as a poet during his youth. Together with Wang Bo, Yang Jiong and Lu Zhaolin, they were referred to as the "The Four Masters of the Early Tang Dynasty". It is believed that this little poem was written by the poet when he was only 7 years old!

Modern Translation:
This poem is an appreciation of goose. The repetition of the word “goose” three times in the first line expresses the joy and excitement of children when they first discover the sight of a goose. The last three lines capture vividly the poise, manner and special air of goose. Those white geese swimming leisurely in the lake, making high noises with their necks and heads high up towards the sky, as if they are chit-chatting among themselves, as if they are singing with gusto, and even more so, as if they are singing to the sky. The geese are swimming around in the water, their pure white body contrasting with the greenish water and their red feet gently paddling the water, creating soft ripples.

This poem evokes the picture of a very relaxed, joyful, wholesome, beautiful and carefree atmosphere and describes the world as seen in the eyes of children. This is the way innocent and carefree children first get to know about life and the world - full of joy of discovery and optimism… just like the bird dashing towards the big nature… lively and elated. This poem up-lifts our spirit by drawing us away for a moment to forget the heavy responsibility as an adult, and experience the heart and carefreeness of a child, which allows the child to have the simple ability to focus its interest in the appreciation of geese.

My After-Thought:
This poem reminds me a lot of the expressions of J when he sees the ducks swimming at the lake near our home… when he sees a dog passing by him… or when he sees a bird at our balcony. J is so full of joy and excitement, and he never fails to pass on the joy to Daddy and I. Whenever the regular pigeon-pair makes a visit at our home, Daddy will drop everything and bring J there to get a close look, even if J is in the midst of having his breakfast! The joy of seeing J’s joyful expression is worth it for Daddy to drop everything, including J’s routine!!!

This is a very child-friendly poem, and it is one of the poems that my neighbour has taught her 2.5 years old daughter to recite. Among all the other poems, this is also the poem that my neighbour’s daughter chose to recite for us during one of the Chinese playgroup sessions, and her mother told us that this is her favourite Tang poem.

Tang Dynasty Poem: 静夜思 [jìng yè sī]

静夜思


床 前 明 月 光

chuáng qián míng yuè guāng

疑 是 地 上 霜

yí shì dì shàng shuāng

举 头 望 明 月

jǔ tóu wàng míng yuè

低 头 思 故 乡

dī tóu sī gù xiāng

Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEW-n20BFJg

Literal Translation:
The moon light shines brightly before my bed,

As if cold frost on the ground before me

Raising my eyes to gaze at the moon,

Bowing my head and think of home.

Author:
This poem was written by the famous Tang poet, Li Bai (701-762), who came from the region of China near Tianshui, Gansu province.

Modern Translation:

The poem depicts a quiet night leading to thoughts of homesickness. Using plain simple language in the poem, the poet vividly captures his feeling of homesickness. It illustrates the power of the nature to evoke deep, thought-provoking in people. The poem is very short – it only contains 20 words – yet it manages to depict simply, clearly and naturally time, environment, atmosphere and the subtle action by the character that shows his heartfelt longing... homesickness.

My After-Thought:

This is a very famous Tang poem that I learned when I was a child. Reading it really brings back childhood memories and feeling of homesickness... I think of my mum and I think of the famous Chinese song that uses this poem as lyrics. This poem expresses very well some of my feelings... although now I am too busy to allow myself a quiet night to dwell on any heartaches from being away from home.

Tang Dynasty Poem: 回乡偶书 [huí xiāng ǒu shū]

回乡偶书

少 小 离 家 老 大 回，

shào xiǎo lí jiā lǎo dà huí 　

乡 音 无 改 鬓 毛 衰。

xiāng yīn wú gǎi bìn máo cuī 　

儿 童 相 见 不 相 识，

ér tóng xiāng jiàn bù xiāng shí 　

笑 问 客 从 何 处 来。

xiào wèn kè cóng hé chù lái 　

Literal Translation:
Youth I was when I left my birthplace, Old I am when I returned,
Hometown accent unchanged, my sideburns grey.
Children saw me, no one knew me,
Smiling politely they asked, "Guest, where do you come from?"

Author:
He Zhizhang (659-744), a poet from the Tang dynasty, who came from today's Zhejiang Xiaoshan region in China.

Modern Translation:
The poet left his birthplace when he was young, and returned in his old age. His hometown accent remained unchanged, but his sideburns had already turned grey.The kids in the street saw him, yet no one knew him. Ironically, they smiled and asked where he came from.

This poem seems plain, but is rich in meaning. The first two lines talked about the poet’s home-coming. The plain recounting of the event contained unspoken and inexpressible excitement and emotion. The poet found himself in a familiar, yet strange environment. As he walked, he sighed, recalling how he had left in his prime, but returned as an old man.The third and fourth line shifted the attention from an emotion-filled self-portrait to a dramatic scene with the children smiling. To the children, it was just a simple innocent question to ask smilingly,”where do you come from?”. However, that simple question became a heavy strike on the poet, as it stirred up his deep emotions and feelings.The poem ended quietly with that question, yet evoked mournful feelings to the utmost. He was being addressed as "guest" in his own hometown. This simple and short poem managed to express and capture the feelings of every wanderer in just a few lines. This is the reason why this poem has stired the hearts of people for thousands of years.

My After-thought:
I have now left Singapore for 9 years.... sigh... perhaps I will have the same feelings when I return to Singapore 30-40 years from now... This poem expresses my heartaches...

Updates:
19 July 2011 - During bedtime this evening for the first time, J (2Y4M14D) could recite almost the whole of this poem. I would say the first 2 words of the line, and he would recite the rest of the line. Daddy FECS heard it from downstairs and he came up very excitedly. J repeated it again for Daddy FECS. However, he could not quite consistently recite the last line of this poem.