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 Listen to Shirley Singing the Poem in English & Chinese Jan 16, 2012
Listen to Shirley Singing the Poem in Chinese & English Jan 16, 2012
Listen to Shirley Explaining the Poem & Follow Shirley to Read the New Words & Poem
Follow Shirley to Read the New Words & the Poem
Read the Meaning of This Poem
See Shirley Created Paintings for the Poem Jan 12, 2012
See Shirley Created Paintings for the Poem June 12, 2011
See Shirley Created Paintings for the Poem Aug 28, 2010
 Chinese people love flowers and we have endued many different human qualities to different flowers in our culture.
For example:
-- When we admire people who are strong, brave and be able to keep their dream in the hard environment or time, we compare them to plum blossom.
-- When we admire people who keep their clean and honest personalities in the bad or dirty situation, we compare them to water lily.
-- When we admire these persons who are aloof from politics and material life, but keep their clean personality, we compare them to orchid.
Today, I would like to introduce another flower that relates to love between man and woman -- peach blossom.
Background of the Poem
In Chinese culture, if you heard people said that someone has a "Luck of peach blossom ", that means he has been loved by someone else. :-)
鈥淟uck of peach blossom鈥� is from a Chinese folk story that relates to a little poem by Tang Dynasty(618 -907) poet Cui Hu.
According a literary sketches Ben Shi Shi• Qinggan by Meng Qi in Tang Dynasty, a poet who named Cui Hu had a walk in the suburb of the capital on the Tomb-sweeping Day. At a gate that peach blossoms were full blooming in the yard, he asked for a cup of water, a beautiful girl went out to treat him warmly. Both of them were impression at each other. On the same day next year, he went to the same house, the girl was not there, but there were only the peach blossoms there in the spring breeze, Cui disappointed and wrote the poem on the left door leaf of the yard.
Days later, he went to the south of the capital casually and he heard crying from the yard, so that he knocked on the gate. A old father went out and asked: 鈥� Were you Cui Hu? 鈥� Cui said 鈥� Yes鈥�. The old father cried again and said : 鈥� You have killed my daughter. 鈥� Cui was surprised and did not know how to answer. The old father said, 鈥� My daughter has grown up, educated and reasonable, but she has not married yet. Since last year, she was often in trance, felt disturbed as if having lost something. Recently, I went out with her, when we came back, found some words on the left door leaf, after reading it, she was sick, abstained from food and passed away. I am old, there is only the child, so that she did not get marry, for she wants to find a gentleman to get marry and to look after of me. Now she was dead, did not you kill her ?鈥� Then he cried again. Cui was also touched and asked for entering the room to cry her. And found she was dignified on the bed. Cui carried her head on his leg and said that I am here. Instant, the girl opened her eyes, and she relived in a half day. The old father was so happy and then he married her daughter to Cui.
By the good help of his wife, Cui became a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations and then a good officer.
Since then, people started to compare the situation that a man gets the sincere love from a lady to 鈥淟uck of Peach Blossom". And the story of "Ren Mian Tao Hua -- a girl's face and peach blossoms" has become a typical Chinese Love Story, and it has been adapted to many different art works.
 Enjoy the Poem
The first two lines:鍘诲勾浠婃棩姝ら棬涓�, 浜洪潰妗冭姳鐩告槧绾�Quni谩n j墨nr矛 c菒 m茅n zh艒ng, r茅nmi脿n t谩ohu膩 xi膩ng y矛n h贸ng This day last year at the same gate, a girl鈥檚 face and flowers reflected the red.
The two lines are retrospection. The first line writes out of the time and place, very lifelikeness and detail, shows us this place has deeply remembered in the heart of the poet. The second line writes the girl, who was in the peach blossoms last year. The peach blossoms were bright-colored and beautiful in the spring breeze already, but a girl鈥檚 face reflected the peach blossom redder. Both of the beautiful things reflect each other, shows us a more wonderful vision and atmosphere.
Last two lines: 浜洪潰涓嶇煡浣曞鍘�, 妗冭姳渚濇棫绗戞槬椋� R茅n mi脿n b霉 zh墨 h茅ch霉 q霉锛�, t谩ohu膩 y墨ji霉 xi脿o ch奴n f膿ng銆侼o one knows where the girl is now; the peach blossoms are still smiling in the spring breeze.
At the same place and same today this year, something is same, something is different. The peach blossoms are still same there, the girl is not there again. There is only the beautiful memory with a light sadness in the heart of the poet.
This little poem is written naturally, uses the girl鈥檚 face and the peach blossoms as the clue, to connect last year and this year, to compare with the sameness and difference, to express the sigh with emotion of the poet circuitously from the bottom of the poet鈥檚 heart, lucidity and mellower, there is much aftertaste.
In this poem, comparison, reflection and personification are importance methods to help the poet to express his feelings.
For enjoying this poem, I created a piece of music for this poem July 30, 2006, and painted two paintings to match the music and poem in 2011 and 2012. I really hope that my effort will be some help with you to learn Chinese culture and language...
Translation of the Poem
This day last year at the same gate,
A girl鈥檚 face and flowers reflected the red.
No one knows where the girl is now,
The peach blossoms are still smiling in the spring breeze.
Chinese Characters & Pronunciations:
You can click any Chinese Character to open the New Character Board and to see its Chinese pinyin, meaning, pronunciation and follow my reading, you can also click the links over to enter the Painting Column,or you can directly enter the art notes on the painting that I created for this poem to see my painting and art notes for the poem
棰橀兘鍩庡崡搴� - T铆 d奴ch膿ng n谩n chu膩ng
宕旀姢 锛�鍞�锛�- Cu墨 H霉 ( T谩ng )
鍘诲勾浠婃棩姝ら棬涓� - Quni谩n j墨nr矛 c菒 m茅n zh艒ng,
浜洪潰妗冭姳鐩告槧绾� - r茅nmi脿n t谩ohu膩 xi膩ng y矛n h贸ng銆�
浜洪潰涓嶇煡浣曞鍘� - R茅n mi脿n b霉 zh墨 h茅ch霉 q霉锛�
妗冭姳渚濇棫绗戞槬椋� - t谩ohu膩 y墨ji霉 xi脿o ch奴n f膿ng銆�
 If you have any questions, comments and suggestions, please write to shirley@ebridge.cn or shirleyz004@yahoo.com. You are welcome to publish your opinions in Message Board as well.
Shirley Zhang
Shirley Wrote, Painted, Translated, Sang & Recorded the Content over Jan 16, 2012/ Aug 29, 2010/ July 30, 2006
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