Home › Poems › Drinking at West Lake: First Sun, Then Rain
Yǐn Hú Shàng Chū Qíng Hòu YǔDrinking at West Lake: First Sun, Then Rain 饮湖上初晴后雨
Su Shi compares West Lake to the beauty Xi Shi.
Original Chinese text with pinyin
水光潋滟晴方好
shuǐ guāng liàn yàn qíng fāng hǎo
山色空蒙雨亦奇
shān sè kōng méng yǔ yì qí
欲把西湖比西子
yù bǎ xī hú bǐ xī zǐ
淡妆浓抹总相宜
dàn zhuāng nóng mǒ zǒng xiāng yí
Simplified characters; traditional title: 飲湖上初晴後雨.
English translation
The brimming waves delight the eye on sunny days;
The dimming hills give a rare view in rainy haze.
West Lake may be compared to Lady of the West;
Whether she is richly adorned or plainly dressed.
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
The first couplet sets two weathers in perfect parallel: sun on water, rain on hills, each beautiful in its own way. The second couplet turns the comparison into a person: Xi Shi, the legendary beauty, is lovely whether lightly or heavily made up. The comparison is playful and affectionate, and it captured West Lake so well that no later poet could top it.
Background
The second of two poems written in 1073 when Su Shi was serving in Hangzhou. Thanks to this poem, West Lake is also called "Xizi Lake."
Key words
- 潋滟 liàn yàn
- shimmering water
- 空蒙 kōng méng
- misty, hazy
- 西子 Xīzǐ
- Xi Shi, a legendary beauty
About the poet: Su Shi
Su Shi, better known as Su Dongpo, was a poet, essayist, painter, calligrapher and official — the great all-rounder of the Song dynasty. Repeatedly exiled, he met hardship with humor and philosophy, and made the ci (song lyric) a vehicle for grand themes.
Lifetime: 1037–1101. Other famous works: Prelude to Water Melody (When Will the Moon Be Clear?) (水调歌头); Spring Night (春夜); Remembering the Past at Red Cliff (念奴娇·赤壁怀古); Written on the Wall at West Forest Temple (题西林壁); Drinking at West Lake: First Sun, Then Rain (饮湖上初晴后雨); Red Cliff Rhapsody (赤壁赋); Gazing South from Chaoran Terrace (望江南); Drunk at Lake View Tower (六月二十七日望湖楼醉书); Spring River at Dusk (惠崇春江晚景); Crabapple (海棠); Silk-Washing Stream (浣溪沙); Silk-Washing Stream: Dragon Boat Festival (浣溪沙); Eating Lychees (食荔枝); On the Road to Xincheng (新城道中); Calming the Waves (定风波); For Liu Jingwen (赠刘景文).
Names from this poem
More by Su Shi
- Spring Night春夜
- Written on the Wall at West Forest Temple题西林壁
- Prelude to Water Melody (When Will the Moon Be Clear?)水调歌头
- Remembering the Past at Red Cliff念奴娇·赤壁怀古
- Gazing South from Chaoran Terrace望江南
- Drunk at Lake View Tower六月二十七日望湖楼醉书
- Spring River at Dusk惠崇春江晚景
- Crabapple海棠