Huà Méi NiǎoThe Thrush 画眉鸟
Ouyang Xiu: a thrush singing freely in the woods sounds better than one in a cage.
Original Chinese text with pinyin
百啭千声随意移
bǎi zhuàn qiān shēng suí yì yí
山花红紫树高低
shān huā hóng zǐ shù gāo dī
始知锁向金笼听
shǐ zhī suǒ xiàng jīn lóng tīng
不及林间自在啼
bù jí lín jiān zì zài tí
Simplified characters; traditional title: 畫眉鳥.
English translation
A hundred trills, a thousand notes, moving where it likes,
among red and purple mountain flowers, high and low in the trees.
Only now I know: the songs heard in a golden cage
are nothing to its free singing in the woods.
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
Ouyang Xiu: a thrush singing freely in the woods sounds better than one in a cage. The scene stays with you.
Background
Ouyang Xiu: a thrush singing freely in the woods sounds better than one in a cage.
Key words
- 百啭 bǎi zhuàn
- a hundred trills; countless warbles
- 千声 qiān shēng
- a thousand cries; countless calls
- 随意 suí yì
- as one pleases; at will
About the poet: Ouyang Xiu
Ouyang Xiu led the Northern Song classical-prose revival and left accomplished poetry and ci.
Lifetime: 1007–1072. Other famous works: The Thrush (画眉鸟); Spring Outing at Fengle Pavilion (丰乐亭游春); Picking Mulberries (采桑子).