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Dēng Kē HòuAfter Passing the Exam 登科后
Meng Jiao after passing the exam: "in the spring wind my horse's hooves are swift".
Original Chinese text with pinyin
昔日龌龊不足夸
xī rì wò chuò bù zú kuā
今朝放荡思无涯
jīn zhāo fàng dàng sī wú yá
春风得意马蹄疾
chūn fēng dé yì mǎ tí jí
一日看尽长安花
yī rì kàn jǐn cháng ān huā
Simplified characters; traditional title: 登科後.
English translation
The hardships of the past are not worth mentioning;
this morning my spirit roams without limit.
Proud in the spring wind, my horse's hooves fly —
in one day I see all the flowers of Chang'an.
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
On the morning of passing the exams, spring wind fills the hooves and Chang'an's flowers are ridden through in a day. Triumph becomes landscape.
Background
Meng Jiao after passing the exam: "in the spring wind my horse's hooves are swift".
Key words
- 登科 dēng kē
- key word in the poem
- 春风得意 chūn fēng dé yì
- key word in the poem
- 长安花 cháng ān huā
- key word in the poem
About the poet: Meng Jiao
Meng Jiao passed the examinations only in his forties and lived in poverty. A friend of Han Yu, he wrote stark, intense poems; his tribute to his mother is one of the best loved in China.
Lifetime: 751–814. Other famous works: Song of the Wandering Son (游子吟); After Passing the Exam (登科后).