Imitating Chinese Poetry

In Chinese poetry it was considered a mark of respect for a young poet to repeat the theme of an earlier poet's work, within the same form. One common theme is the thoughts and feelings of a lonely woman who is waiting for her husband or lover to return.

1. Read through the poems below.
2. Try writing a short verse on the same theme.

A Wife's Thoughts III

Since you, sir, went away,
My bright mirror is dim and untended.
My thoughts of you are like flowing water;
Will they ever have an end?

HSU KAN

[Im imitation of the above poem.]
Since you, sir, went away,
My gauze curtains sigh in the autumn's wind.
My thoughts of you are like the creeping grass
That grows and spreads without end.

FAN YUN

[In imitation of Hsu Kan]
Since you, sir, went away,
My golden burner has had no incense,
For thinking of you I am like the bright candle,
At midnight vainly burning itself away.

WANG JUNG

Student examples:

Since you, sir, went away,
The leaves have fallen from the trees
The flowing river has frozen hard with ice
And I am cold and lonely

Since you, sir, went away,
My heart is sad and lonely
I walk among pale white lilies
They mirror my melancholy mood.

Reference:

Parker, John F. (1982). The Writer's Workshop. Don Mills, Ont.: Addison- Wesley Publishers.