dailycharacter

宿五松山下荀媪家 (李白)

Title: Overnight at Old Lady Xun's at the Foot of Five Pine Mountain ▪ 宿五松山下荀媪家
Author: Li Bai

Poetic Formlǜshī 律诗

Apologies, individual character links no longer available for this poem...

1. 我 + 宿 + ((五 + 松) + 下)
    I + to spend the night + ((five + pine) + below)
    gloss: I spent the night at the foot of Five Pine
    (Mountain)

2. (寂 + 廖) + (无 + 所 + 欢)
    (lonesome + empty) + (no + place + jubilant)
    gloss: [I am] all alone, with no feeling of joy

3. (田 + 家) + (秋 + 作 + 苦)
    (field + house) + (autumn + to regard as + bitter)
    gloss: The Autumn is bitter for peasants

4. (邻 + 女) + 夜 + 舂 + 寒
    (neighbor + woman) + night + to pound rice +
       cold
     gloss: The neighbor lady pounds rice in the
     night; it is cold

5. (跪 + 进) + (彫 + (胡 + 饭))
    (to kneel + to advance) + (to decorate + (wild +
       rice))
    gloss: [She] kneels down to proffer wild rice

6. ((月 + 光) + 明) + (素 + 盘)
    ((moon + light) + bright) + (plain + plate)
    gloss: In the moonlight, the plate is plain/empty

7. (令 + 人) + 惭 + (漂 + 母)
    (to create + person) + ashamed + (beautiful +
       mother)
     gloss: This makes a person ashamed [before]
     the 'Beautiful Mother' (an old woman who gave
     the historic personage Han Xin a meal in a time
     of need)

8. (三 + 谢) + (不i + 能 + 餐)
    (three + thanks) + (not + can + to eat)
    gloss: I thank her three times and still cannot eat
    (because I feel I do not deserve the food)

Translation

Overnight at Old Lady Xun's at the Foot of Five Pine Mountain
translation by Jessica Alexander ©

I overnight in the shadow of Five Pines, desolate and
                                                                                        cheerless.
Autumn is bitter to peasants;
The neighbor woman pounds rice late in the cold night.
Kneels, offers me wild rice, moonlight glinting off the
                                                                                    simple plate.
Beautiful Mother's generous hand humbles;
My meager thanks unfit for the feast.

Analysis

Picture

Other Translations

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