Home › Poems › Gazing South from Chaoran Terrace
Wàng Jiāng NánGazing South from Chaoran Terrace 望江南
Su Shi on a terrace in late spring, trying new tea after the Cold Food festival.
Original Chinese text with pinyin
春未老
chūn wèi lǎo
风细柳斜斜
fēng xì liǔ xié xié
试上超然台上看
shì shàng chāo rán tái shàng kàn
半壕春水一城花
bàn háo chūn shuǐ yī chéng huā
休对故人思故国
xiū duì gù rén sī gù guó
且将新火试新茶
qiě jiāng xīn huǒ shì xīn chá
诗酒趁年华
shī jiǔ chèn nián huá
Simplified characters; traditional title: 望江南. This is a long poem; only the best-known lines are shown, and “……” marks omitted passages.
Note on the text: This page presents a well-known excerpt; the full poem is longer in the traditional corpus.
English translation
Spring has not grown old;
the breeze is soft, the willows lean and sway.
I climb Chaoran Terrace to look out:
half a moat of spring water, a whole town of flowers.
Don't long for home in front of old friends —
let's try new tea on the new fire,
and enjoy poems and wine while we are young.
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
Su Shi on a terrace in late spring, trying new tea after the Cold Food festival. The scene stays with you.
Background
Su Shi on a terrace in late spring, trying new tea after the Cold Food festival.
Key words
- 春未 chūn wèi
- spring not yet (over / come)
- 风细 fēng xì
- a fine breeze; gentle wind
- 柳斜 liǔ xié
- willows leaning aslant
About the poet: Su Shi
Su Shi, better known as Su Dongpo, was a poet, essayist, painter, calligrapher and official — the great all-rounder of the Song dynasty. Repeatedly exiled, he met hardship with humor and philosophy, and made the ci (song lyric) a vehicle for grand themes.
Lifetime: 1037–1101. Other famous works: Prelude to Water Melody (When Will the Moon Be Clear?) (水调歌头); Spring Night (春夜); Remembering the Past at Red Cliff (念奴娇·赤壁怀古); Written on the Wall at West Forest Temple (题西林壁); Drinking at West Lake: First Sun, Then Rain (饮湖上初晴后雨); Red Cliff Rhapsody (赤壁赋); Gazing South from Chaoran Terrace (望江南); Drunk at Lake View Tower (六月二十七日望湖楼醉书); Spring River at Dusk (惠崇春江晚景); Crabapple (海棠); Silk-Washing Stream (浣溪沙); Silk-Washing Stream: Dragon Boat Festival (浣溪沙); Eating Lychees (食荔枝); On the Road to Xincheng (新城道中); Calming the Waves (定风波); For Liu Jingwen (赠刘景文).
More by Su Shi
- Spring Night春夜
- Written on the Wall at West Forest Temple题西林壁
- Drinking at West Lake: First Sun, Then Rain饮湖上初晴后雨
- Prelude to Water Melody (When Will the Moon Be Clear?)水调歌头
- Remembering the Past at Red Cliff念奴娇·赤壁怀古
- Drunk at Lake View Tower六月二十七日望湖楼醉书
- Spring River at Dusk惠崇春江晚景
- Crabapple海棠