Chūn XuěSpring Snow 春雪
Han Yu on spring snow after New Year, falling through the trees like petals.
Original Chinese text with pinyin
新年都未有芳华
xīn nián dōu wèi yǒu fāng huá
二月初惊见草芽
èr yuè chū jīng jiàn cǎo yá
白雪却嫌春色晚
bái xuě què xián chūn sè wǎn
故穿庭树作飞花
gù chuān tíng shù zuò fēi huā
Simplified characters; traditional title: 春雪.
English translation
At the new year there were still no fragrant flowers;
in the second month I'm surprised to see the first grass shoots.
The white snow, finding spring's colours too late,
flies through the courtyard trees as blossoms.
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
Han Yu on spring snow after New Year, falling through the trees like petals. The scene stays with you.
Background
Han Yu on spring snow after New Year, falling through the trees like petals.
Key words
- 新年 xīn nián
- the new year
- 都未 dōu wèi
- not yet at all; still not
- 有芳 yǒu fāng
- there is fragrance
About the poet: Han Yu
Han Yu was a leading prose writer and Confucian thinker who championed the "ancient prose" movement. His poetry can be bold and unusual, but also delicate, as in his early-spring quatrain.
Lifetime: 768–824. Other famous works: Early Spring: For Zhang the Eighteenth of the Ministry of Water (早春呈水部张十八员外); On Teachers (师说); Late Spring (晚春); Spring Snow (春雪).