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Xīn Chéng Dào ZhōngOn the Road to Xincheng 新城道中
Su Shi on a mountain walk as the weather clears: a cloud like a cap, the sun like a gong.
Original Chinese text with pinyin
东风知我欲山行
dōng fēng zhī wǒ yù shān xíng
吹断檐间积雨声
chuī duàn yán jiān jī yǔ shēng
岭上晴云披絮帽
lǐng shàng qíng yún pī xù mào
树头初日挂铜钲
shù tóu chū rì guà tóng zhēng
Simplified characters; traditional title: 新城道中. This is a long poem; only the best-known lines are shown, and “……” marks omitted passages.
Note on the text: This page presents a well-known excerpt; the full poem is longer in the traditional corpus.
English translation
The east wind knows I mean to walk in the hills,
and stops the sound of the long rain dripping from the eaves.
On the ridge, clear clouds wear a cap of cotton;
at the treetops the early sun hangs like a bronze gong.
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
Su Shi on a mountain walk as the weather clears: a cloud like a cap, the sun like a gong. The scene stays with you.
Background
Su Shi on a mountain walk as the weather clears: a cloud like a cap, the sun like a gong.
Key words
- 檐间 yán jiān
- key word in the poem
- 絮帽 xù mào
- key word in the poem
- 铜钲 tóng zhēng
- key word in the poem
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).
More by Su Shi
- Spring Night春夜
- 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
- 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