Chin Poetry 2024-1

Examples of poems 1

Characters 1

上 月 月 地 光 低 床 明 明 夜 故 是 思 思 前 望 鄉 疑 靜 頭 頭 舉 霜

Traditional characters 1

故鄉-故乡

靜-静

頭-头

舉-举

Vocabulary 1

疑 yí doubt, wonder, question

霜 shuāng frost

舉 jǔ lift

低 dī lower

Li Bai: Thoughts in the Silent Night, poem 1

靜夜思

Jìngyè sī

床前明月光，

Chuáng qián míng yuèguāng,

疑是地上霜。

Yí shì dìshang shuāng.

舉頭望明月，

Jǔtóu wàng míngyuè,

低頭思故鄉。

Dītóu sī gùxiāng.

TRANSLATION of poem 1

Moonlight reflects off the front of my bed.

Could it actually be the frost on the ground?

I look up to view the bright moon,

And look down to reminisce about my hometown.

About: This popular Chinese poem was penned by one of the most famous Tang dynasty poets of all time – Li Bai (701-762). The poem expresses the poet’s loneliness, pensiveness, and homesickness as he gazes up at the bright moon.

Vocabulary of poem 2

土 下 日 中 午 wu 禾 hé grain 禾 汗 李 辛 苦 知 皆 jiē all 粒 lì grain 粒粒皆辛苦 Every single grain [is the fruit of] hard work. 粒 紳 Shēn (first name) 當 dāngwǔ 當午: noon 農 nóng farmer 滴 盤 pán plate, dish, tray 鋤 chú to hoe, to dig out (鋤禾 chúhé: to weed) 誰 憫 mǐn to sympathize with, to pity, to toil 餐

Traditional Characters of Poem 2

紳-绅

憫-悯

農-农

鋤-锄

當-当

誰-谁

盤-盘

Pinyin transcription 憫農 (“Toiling Farmers”, by Li Shen)

李紳 《憫農》

Lǐ Shēn «Mǐn nóng»

鋤禾日當午，

Chú hé rì dāngwǔ,

汗滴禾下土。

Hàn dī hé xiàtǔ.

誰知盤中餐，

Shéizhī pán zhōng cān,

粒粒皆辛苦。

Lìlì jiē xīnkǔ.

TRANSLATION of poem 2

Farmers weeding at noon,

Sweat down the field soon.

Who knows food on a tray

Thanks to their toiling day?

About: A common Chinese nursery rhyme still popular today, “Toiling Farmers” depicts the hard work and life of a Chinese farmer. Written by Tang Dynasty poet Li Shen, the poem emphasises how hard each farmers work for every grain of rice, and serves as a gentle reminder for children not to waste their food.

Characters 3

王

天

水

毛

白

波

紅

浮 fú to float

清

項 xiàng neck

掌 zhǎng hand, claw

詠 yǒng ode

歌 gē to sing, the song

賓 Bīn (first name)

綠

撥 bō to push (e.g. water, waves)

曏 xiàng towards

駱 Luò (last name)

鵝 é goose

鵝

鵝

鵝

麴 qū to bend

Wáng tiān shuǐ máo bái bō hóng fú qīng xiàng zhǎng yǒng gē bīn lǜ bō xiàng luò é é é é qū

Traditional characters and their simplified versions of poem 3

駱-骆 Luò

賓-宾 Bīn

詠-咏

鵝-鹅

麴-曲

項-项

曏-向

綠-绿

紅-红

撥-拨

Luo Binwang: An Ode to the Goose: poem 3

駱賓王: 詠鵝

Luò Bīnwáng: Yǒng é

鵝、鵝、鵝，

É, é, é,

麴項曏天歌。

Qū xiàng xiàng tiān gē.

白毛浮綠水，

Báimáo fú lǜshuǐ,

紅掌撥清波

Hóng zhǎng bō qīng bō

TRANSLATION of poem 3

Goose, goose, goose,

You bend your neck towards the sky and sing.

Your white feathers float on the emerald water,

Your red feet push the clear waves.

About: Written by Tang Dynasty poet Luo Binwang when he was only seven years old, “An Ode to the Goose” is a particularly simple and easy to memorize poem, resulting in it often being one of the very first famous Chinese poems to be learned by Chinese children.