Nocturnal Longing

In Chinese and English

Photo by Edward Polo on Unsplash

夜思

清风逐云掩玉盘，

大地沉影入夜寒。

梦寻归处与君看，

共赏花落知春残

Nocturnal Longing

A soft breeze herds the silvered clouds,

To veil the bright and lonely moon.

The world below in shadow shrouds,

And deepens night’s ephemeral noon.

Within this dream, my longing starts:

To walk with you through spring’s own art,

Where petals fall like scattered hearts

One scene, two souls, no more apart.

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Explanation of the Chinese Poetic Craftsmanship

Chinese poetry is different from Western style poetry. There are different rules and expectations utilized in the crafting of a classical Chinese poem. One of the most difficult aspects of creating Chinese poetry for a non-native speaker is tone. Mandarin is a tonal language. Classical Chinese poetry follows very specific rule sets in regard to character and tone. Tones have to be precise so when spoken or sung, the poem is lilting and melodic.

Tonal Parallelism (平仄对仗)

This poem follows a 七言绝句 Qiyan Jueju structure.

Each line has seven characters with careful attention to level (平, ping) and oblique (仄, ze) tones.

Couplet 1 - Lines 1 & 2: “清风逐云 (平平仄平)” contrasts with “大地沉影 (仄仄平仄)”. The verbs “掩 (to veil)” and “入 (to enter)” create dynamic opposition.

Couplet 2 - Lines 3 & 4: “梦寻归处 (仄平平仄)” pairs with “共赏花落 (仄仄平仄)”. The pronouns “与君 (with you)” and the action “知春 (know spring)” form a conceptual parallel.

Semantic Parallelism (语义对仗)

First Couplet (Sky Scene): “清风 (soft breeze)” pairs with “大地 (great earth)” (heaven vs. earth). “逐云 (herds clouds)” opposes “沉影 (sinks shadows)” (upward vs. downward motion). “玉盘 (jade plate, the moon)” is mirrored by “夜寒 (night’s cold)” (celestial object vs. terrestrial sensation).

Second Couplet (Heart’s Desire): “梦寻 (dream-seek)” parallels “共赏 (together-appreciate)”. “归处 (place of return)” pairs with “春残 (spring’s end)”, implying a journey through time. The core wish “与君看 (to watch with you)” is fulfilled in the shared understanding of “知春残 (knowing spring’s end together).

玉盘 (jade plate) classic metaphor for the full moon

梦寻归处 “Dream-seeking for a place of return” (reuniting)

知春残 “To know spring’s end” (understanding of beauty’s transience)

I hope this helps you understand a little more about the creation of Classical Chinese poetry. My poem is by no means perfect form. I too am relatively new to writing Classical Chinese poetry. It is also a learning curve for me.

These take me a few weeks of work to get the structure and tones correct. They also do not translate to English word for word. There is more use of traditional Chinese cultural symbolism, historical references, and idioms that are not found in regular speech in the Western world. Direct translation is often not possible.

Please see these two articles for basic introductions to Chinese poetry and a comparison of Chinese and Western style poetry.

Thank you so much for reading, I appreciate your time. Many blessings!