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Zhì Zi Nòng BīngA Child Playing with Ice 稚子弄氷
Yang Wanli on a child using a disc of ice as a gong. A winter poem.
Original Chinese text with pinyin
稚子金盆脱晓氷
zhì zi jīn pén tuō xiǎo bīng
彩丝穿取当银钲
cǎi sī chuān qǔ dāng yín zhēng
敲成玉磬穿林响
qiāo chéng yù qìng chuān lín xiǎng
忽作玻璃碎地声
hū zuò bō lí suì dì shēng
Simplified characters; traditional title: 稚子弄氷.
English translation
At dawn the child lifts the ice from a golden basin,
threads it on coloured silk to be a silver gong.
Struck, it rings like a jade chime through the woods —
then suddenly shatters on the ground like glass.
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
Yang Wanli on a child using a disc of ice as a gong. A winter poem. The scene stays with you.
Background
Yang Wanli on a child using a disc of ice as a gong. A winter poem.
Key words
- 银钲 yín zhēng
- a silver gong — the moon or sun
- 玉磬 yù qìng
- a jade chime-stone
- 玻璃 bō lí
- glass; crystal-clear (water)
About the poet: Yang Wanli
Yang Wanli developed a fresh, witty style that captured small moments of nature as if seen for the first time. He wrote over four thousand surviving poems.
Lifetime: 1127–1206. Other famous works: The Little Pond (小池); A Child Playing with Ice (稚子弄氷); Leaving Jingci Temple at Dawn (晓出净慈寺送林子方); Waking from an Early-Summer Nap (闲居初夏午睡起); Seeking Cool on a Summer Night (夏夜追凉); Boating Past Anren (舟过安仁); At Xu's Inn in Xinshi (宿新市徐公店).
More by Yang Wanli
- The Little Pond小池
- Leaving Jingci Temple at Dawn晓出净慈寺送林子方
- Waking from an Early-Summer Nap闲居初夏午睡起
- Seeking Cool on a Summer Night夏夜追凉
- Boating Past Anren舟过安仁
- At Xu's Inn in Xinshi宿新市徐公店