Chinese poems

Explore classical Chinese poems with original text, Mandarin pinyin, word meanings, and an original English translation. The reader offers traditional and simplified characters, with notes on language, form, and context.

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Li Bai Quiet Night Thought 靜夜思 Li Bai’s four-line night poem, with the traditional text, Mandarin pinyin, a word-by-word gloss, and an English translation written for PoemWell. Meng Haoran Spring Dawn 春曉 Meng Haoran’s Spring Dawn: birdsong, a night of wind and rain, and a question about fallen flowers, with gloss and an original English translation. Wang Wei Deer Enclosure 鹿柴 Wang Wei’s quatrain from the Wangchuan poems: an empty mountain, a voice, and late light on the moss, with gloss and a new English translation. Li Bai Drinking Alone beneath the Moon 月下獨酌 The first of Li Bai’s four poems called Drinking Alone beneath the Moon: wine, a shadow, and the moon as a third companion, with gloss and an original translation. Du Fu Spring View 春望 Du Fu’s Spring View, written in occupied Chang’an in 757: a regulated eight-line poem of a broken capital, with gloss, tone notes, and an original translation. Su Shi Shui Diao Ge Tou 水調歌頭 Su Shi’s mid-autumn lyric to the tune Shui Diao Ge Tou, written in 1076 with his brother in mind: text, pinyin, gloss, and an original English translation. Bai Juyi A Question for Liu Nineteen 問劉十九 Bai Juyi’s invitation to a friend before the snow: traditional Chinese, pinyin, a word-by-word gloss, original English translation, and close reading. Bai Juyi Grass on the Ancient Plain 賦得古原草送別 Read all eight lines of Bai Juyi’s grass poem, including its farewell ending, with Chinese, pinyin, a gloss, original English translation, and notes. Li Qingzhao Ru Meng Ling: After Last Night’s Rain 如夢令·昨夜雨疏風驟 Li Qingzhao’s brief conversation about rain and crabapple flowers, with Chinese, pinyin, a gloss, original English translation, and notes on its turn. Li Qingzhao Yi Jian Mei: A Longing in Two Places 一剪梅·紅藕香殘玉簟秋 Li Qingzhao’s lyric of separation, from fading lotus scent to a feeling that will not leave: Chinese, pinyin, gloss, original translation, and notes. Wang Wei Sending Yuan Er to Anxi 送元二使安西 Wang Wei’s farewell to Yuan Er, with Chinese text, pinyin, and English notes on the last cup, fresh willows, Yang Pass, and the prospect of leaving old friends. Li Bai Yellow Crane Tower Farewell 黃鶴樓送孟浩然之廣陵 Li Bai sees Meng Haoran off toward Yangzhou: Chinese text, pinyin, gloss, original English translation, and notes on the disappearing sail and text variants. Li Bai Sitting Alone on Jingting Mountain 獨坐敬亭山 Li Bai’s Jingting Mountain poem in Chinese, pinyin, and English: departing birds and cloud leave a solitary sitter and a mountain looking at one another. Li Bai Viewing the Waterfall at Mount Lu 望廬山瀑布（二首其二） Li Bai’s Mount Lu waterfall in Chinese, pinyin, and English: follow the distant hanging stream into a flying current and an imagined river from heaven. Li Bai To Wang Lun 贈汪倫 Li Bai’s To Wang Lun in Chinese, pinyin, and English: how a song from the shore interrupts departure and the depth of Peach Blossom Pool measures friendship. Wang Wei Red Beans 相思 Wang Wei’s red beans become a token of longing in twenty characters: Chinese, pinyin, word gloss, an original English translation, and textual notes. Wang Wei Bamboo Grove 竹里館 A qin, a long call, and moonlight enter Wang Wei’s solitary bamboo grove. Read the Chinese with pinyin, character glosses, original translation, and notes. Wang Wei Farewell in the Mountains 山中送別 Wang Wei closes a gate after a friend leaves, then asks about next spring. Chinese, pinyin, word gloss, original translation, and notes on the final question. Meng Haoran Mooring on the Jiande River 宿建德江 Meng Haoran’s Jiande River quatrain in Chinese and English, with pinyin and notes on a traveler’s sorrow, the low sky, and a moon that seems close. Meng Haoran Visiting an Old Friend’s Farm 過故人莊 Meng Haoran visits an old friend’s farm: Chinese text, pinyin, and English notes on the feast, talk of crops, and a return planned for the Double Ninth festival. Du Fu Two Yellow Orioles 絕句（兩個黃鸝鳴翠柳） Du Fu sets birds, snow, and distant boats within two balanced couplets. Chinese, pinyin, word gloss, original English translation, and a close reading. Du Fu Long Spring Days 絕句（遲日江山麗） Long spring days, soft mud, flying swallows, and sleeping ducks in Du Fu’s quatrain, with Chinese, pinyin, a character gloss, original translation, and notes. Bai Juyi Peach Blossoms at Dalin Temple 大林寺桃花 Bai Juyi finds spring flowering where he thought it had vanished: Chinese, pinyin, word gloss, an original English translation, and notes on the poem’s turn. Su Shi Written on the Wall at West Forest Temple 題西林壁 Su Shi’s West Forest Temple quatrain, with pinyin and English notes on changing views of Mount Lu and why being inside the mountain limits the observer.