Chinese poems by Tu Mu

Hi, are you interested in Chinese poems?
I feel like introducing a little bit about Chinese poems, hope you'll enjoy.

I will begin with poems of the late T'ang by Tu Mu(803-852).
"Tu Mu is most admired as a master of Chueh-chu, the New Style quatrain with an AABA rhyme scheme like that of Omar Khayyam. " And there are two types of such quatrains, one with 5 characters in each of the four verses, the other with 7.

The first opem is Spring in Chiang-nan, translated by A. C. Graham.

Spring in Chiang-nan
For a thousand miles the oriole sings, crimson against the green.
Riverside villiage, mountain ramparts, wineshop streamers in the wind.
Of four hundred and eighty monasteries of the Southern Dynasties
How many towers and terraces loom in the miasty rain?

tips: Chiang-nan refers to the palce in the south of the lower reaches of the Changjiang river(also called Yangtse River, the longest river in China). This is a relatively prosperous area in China and has a lot of rivers and lakes.

The second poem is Trevelling in the Mountains, also translated by A.C. Graham.

Travelling in the Mountains
Far up the cold mountain the stony path slopes:
Where the white clouds are born there are homes of men.
Stop the crriage, sit and enjoy the evening in the maple wood:
The frosty leaves are redder than the second month's flowers.

Tu Mu written a lot of other poems, but for time's sake, I could not intoduce more. Sorry for my poor English :angel:

Thanks pea! I like both of these, especially 'Traveling in the Mountains'.

Thanks for posting those Chinese poems, pea!There were some especially vivid lines.One is reminded of the natural splendor of the landscape, which is further expressed wondrously through these beautiful poems, by distinguished Chinese poets.I'm extremely interested in this lush and interesting land; and places which are foreign to me, as an Australian, but I have seen represented in international films such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero, and The House of Flying Daggers.Also in various collections of photographs, which can symbolise aspects of this fascinating culture and display the uniqueness of the wilderness;so effectively captured by the words of the Chinese poets. I hope to read more soon!:)

aurora ariel

The films that you watched were pretty much comercialized. I'm not supposing that they didn't get across an aspect of culture and uniqueness of China. But I do advise you not to take it so fascinately, if once you really do travel to this country. What you would see will probably enthrall you but at the same time shock you.

BTW

hi pea!
i'm from Shenzhen~ ^^
very thoughtful of you posting translations of Chinese poems~
love it!

Hello Pea,

Those were beautiful poems! I love Chinese poetry, especially the poems of Li Bai. I haven't been to China yet but I hope to next year. I can't wait - China has such a rich culture, I'm really fascinated by it. The very way Chinese names work is so wonderful and poetic...the Chinese are also renown for being hardworking (not meaning to be stereotypical or anything though ;))...and China is the third country in the world to send people to the moon!

Loki out :)