Home › Poems › Ode to the Goose
Yǒng ÉOde to the Goose 咏鹅
Written by Luo Binwang at seven: white geese swimming.
Original Chinese text with pinyin
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
hóng zhǎng bō qīng bō
Simplified characters; traditional title: 詠鵝.
English translation
Goose, goose, goose —
neck curved, singing to the sky.
White feathers float on green water;
red feet paddle the clear ripples.
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
鹅鹅鹅 · é é é — Goose, goose, goose —
曲项向天歌 · qū xiàng xiàng tiān gē — neck curved, singing to the sky.
白毛浮绿水 · bái máo fú lǜ shuǐ — White feathers float on green water;
红掌拨清波 · hóng zhǎng bō qīng bō — red feet paddle the clear ripples.
Meaning and imagery
Written by Luo Binwang at seven: white geese swimming. The scene stays with you.
Background
Written by Luo Binwang at seven: white geese swimming.
Key words
- 曲项 qū xiàng
- curved neck (of a goose)
- 绿水 lǜ shuǐ
- green water; emerald stream
- 拨清波 bō qīng bō
- parting the clear ripples
About the poet: Luo Binwang
Luo Binwang, one of the Four Elites of Early Tang, is remembered for Ode to the Goose.
Lifetime: c. 640–c. 684. Other famous works: Ode to the Goose (咏鹅).