Chinese Poems 古诗词 Staying at a Cottage of Mt. Hibiscus on a Night of Snow

Staying at a Cottage of Mt. Hibiscus on a Night of Snow

Introducion:

The poet depicts succinctly and plainly what he observes around him and gives the reader an exuberant imagination.   

 

Text:

Féng Xuě Sù Fú Róng Shān Zhǔ Rén

 逢   雪 宿 芙   蓉   山  主  人

刘长卿（唐）

 

rì mù cānɡ shān yuǎn，

日 暮   苍    山      远  ，

 tiān hán bái wū pín。

 天     寒   白   屋  贫。

chái mén wén quǎn fèi，

 柴     门    闻       犬    吠，

fēng xuě yè guī rén。

  风    雪   夜  归  人。

 

Staying at a Cottage of Mt. Hibiscus on a Night of Snow

Liu Changqing( Tang )

 

When the mountains lurk dim in the pale dark,

The cottage of shabby looks stands lone in twilight.

By the wattle gate now I hear dogs loudly bark,

The master has come home in the snow of night.

 

Comment:

With the line "When the mountains lurk dim in the pale dark", the poet presents the reader with the vast, deserted landscape--the far-away setting sun and the ashen mountains make a broad background against which appears the shabby-looking cottage and the wattle gate. Capped with snow, the thatchy cottage looks even colder and cleaner. The next two lines mark a turn in time when the dog's barks break the silence of the snowy night as its master returns home. The poet depicts succinctly and plainly what he observes around him and gives the reader an exuberant imagination.