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Zhú Zhī CíBamboo Branch Song 竹枝词
Liu Yuxi in folk-song style; "clear weather" (qing) puns on "love" (qing).
Original Chinese text with pinyin
杨柳青青江水平
yáng liǔ qīng qīng jiāng shuǐ píng
闻郞江上唱歌声
wén láng jiāng shàng chàng gē shēng
东边日出西边雨
dōng biān rì chū xī biān yǔ
道是无晴却有晴
dào shì wú qíng què yǒu qíng
Simplified characters; traditional title: 竹枝詞.
English translation
Willows green, green, the river water level;
I hear my sweetheart singing on the river.
Sun rising in the east, rain in the west —
you'd say it isn't clear, and yet it's clear.
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
Liu Yuxi in folk-song style; "clear weather" (qing) puns on "love" (qing). The scene stays with you.
Background
Liu Yuxi in folk-song style; "clear weather" (qing) puns on "love" (qing).
Key words
- 竹枝词 zhú zhī cí
- Bamboo Branch Song — a folk-style lyric
- 无晴 wú qíng
- no fair weather — also a pun on feeling (晴/情)
- 有晴 yǒu qíng
- there is fair weather — punning with feeling
About the poet: Liu Yuxi
Liu Yuxi, a close friend of Liu Zongyuan and Bai Juyi, spent over twenty years in exile after the failed reform of 805. Bai Juyi called him the "hero of poetry" for his resilient, witty spirit.
Lifetime: 772–842. Other famous works: Black Robe Lane (乌衣巷); Autumn Song (秋词); The Autumn Wind (秋风引); An Inscription for My Humble Room (陋室铭); Gazing at Dongting (望洞庭); Bamboo Branch Song (竹枝词); Waves Washing Sand (浪淘沙); Admiring Peonies (赏牡丹); Autumn Song II (秋词).
More by Liu Yuxi
- Black Robe Lane乌衣巷
- Autumn Song秋词
- The Autumn Wind秋风引
- Gazing at Dongting望洞庭
- Waves Washing Sand浪淘沙
- Admiring Peonies赏牡丹
- Autumn Song II秋词