Mastering Chinese Poetry Ep. 1: Classic poem on working harder for a better life 《登鸛雀樓》

Each culture is embedded with words, customs, literature, music or other patterns of expression to reflect its history. This is true about Chinese culture as well. With a history of more than 5,000 years, Chinese poetry has provided a format and a forum for both public and private expressions of deep emotions.
CGTN's special series "Mastering Chinese Poetry" prepares a list of Chinese poems that offer clues to Chinese history and culture through ancient expressions. In the first episode, we look at one of the classic poems in the history of Chinese literature: On the Stork Tower. The poem was written by Chinese poet Wang Zhihuan during the glorious age of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). In modern times, Chinese people love to use its lines to encourage young people to work harder to have a better life.
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[@RobertoAlonso-wj4lz]

Chinese people are so beautiful in every way. They're beautiful, intelligent, ellegant, admirable. I love chinese culture. My dream is to travel and even live in China. It would be a bless to me.

[@reymicroc]

They are communists

[@yonathanasefaw9001]

Beautiful, I love Chinese poetry.

[@josedelgado7931]

Yes more traditional Chinese poems. Please

[@billrogers5219]

I've heard a completely different interpretation of this poem in which the poet is seen as taking the point of view of a wife whose husband has been sent far away to war, or simply to carry out a job in the Tang administration far from home. The sun on the mountain represents the eternity and stability of nature, the river rushing to the sea represents the fleetingness of human life. And the wife wishes for eyes that could see to the end of sight, far enough to see her husband, and climbs up one more floor, wishing to see him, but knowing he will still be far away and may never make it home. That interpretation does seem in line with lots of other Tang poems about absence, distant government duties, longing, etc. The one given in the video, on the other hand, sounds like it was adapted to be used to get your kids to study harder. That is a great thing about Tang poetry, it is often open to multiple, very different interpretations.

[@AdamSmith-ul1xx]

Just picked up on the fact that this highlights Shaanxi Province, Xi's hometown. Not a coincidence. Xi is right that hard work, as he has quoted many times, is the best solution to a more prosperous life. Thank you to CGTN for the making of this video.

[@djtan3313]

My culture is beautiful. I will protect it with my life.

[@XuanLong345]

I love it too, though it is not mine. I share it's beauty whenever I can.❤

[@andyxyz01]

🥺🥺🥺❤❤❤

[@13141beizi]

One of my fav poems growing up. My grandma loves it even more.

[@FreedomEscapismASMR]

💞🌹🌸💞🌹I love classical Chinese Art and poetry. It is beautiful. Thank you for sharing 🌸🌹💞🌹📝🌸💞🌹

[@michaeltheboombringer2848]

Beautiful poem

[@BUKCOLLECTOR]

Enjoyed your multi lingual poems. And your unique word choices enhanced the emotional impact and kept me engaged throughout. I’m a poet specializing in Japanese forms: haiku, tanka, haibun, kyoka, senryu. I hope you don’t mind me sharing a tanka and my haiku, a tribute poem to Bashō’s frog with commentary by the late AHA founder and poet Jane Reichhold who considered my Basho haiku among her top 10 haiku of all time. What an honor. Here’s the Bashō poem and commentary: Bashō’s frog four hundred years of ripples At first the idea of picking only 10 of my favorite haiku seemed a rather daunting task. How could I review all the haiku I have read in my life and decide that there were only 10 that were outstanding? Then realized I was already getting a steady stream of excellent haiku day by day through the AHA forum. The puns and write-offs based on Basho's most famous haiku are so numerous I would have said that nothing new could be said with this method, but here Al Fogel proved me wrong. Perhaps part of my delight in this haiku lies in the fact that I agree with him. Here he is saying one thing about realism-ripples are on a pond after a frog jumps in, but because it refers back to Basho and his famous haiku, he is also saying something about the haiku and authors who have followed him. We, and our work, are just ripples while Basho holds the honor of inventing the idea of the sound of a frog leaping is the sound of water As haiku spreads around the world, making ripples in more and larger ponds, its ripples are wider-including us all. But his last word reminds us all that we are ripples and our lives ephemeral. It will be the frogs that will remain. ~~ And my tanka: returning home from a Jackson Pollock exhibition I smear my face with paint and morph into art ~~ -All love in isolation from Miami Beach, Florida, Al

[@ST-zi8pp]

Truly beautiful in every way. Thank you for sharing this beautiful poem and thank you to the lovely Lady who spoke and explained it so eloquently. Xièxiè nín.

[@shennycosta4852]

so beautiful both the sound and the meaning

[@look007456]

beatiful chinese poem

[@gabim2744]

Amazing! Thanks

[@layalharb2472]

Plz more videos i love it chinese poems are so touching

[@dinhnguyen6950]

so touching for an excellent video

[@nayaabpoetry9157]

🌠 awesome 🌠💓💗

[@olenievart]

我是乌兰英语外教老师住在广州，也是小学英文书作家越来越出发在中国。

[@derekfenner5425]

祝福这样精致的光，通过优雅的华和技巧，热情而快乐地呈现在这样的精致中。充满美感的和谐音调和声音远景，用灵魂、快乐和优雅来传播。 感恩和感谢你们分享爱，播种光明和教导和平，从非洲妈妈的南端表达的爱，愿在这个满月中秋的庆祝活动中表现出丰富的充实，以及爱和家庭，珍惜的长辈和年轻人，远的和近的，在和平的欢乐中被传播和分享

[@celizalde.c]

Lol. I just pick this video cuz YOLO from Mexico, now I'm subscribed to the channel.

[@stevenkok1926]

Scenic Chinese Culture.

[@GeorgAnkar]

This poem can be found in the protagonist's apartment at the beginning of Prey (2017 videogame).

[@kimcarter85]

I really wish this video had a transcript or captions. It doesn't meet ADA requirement.s

[@AdamSmith-ul1xx]

Outstanding. Normally for this I say 11/10, but this was a 12/10. What else do I want to learn ? Everything... but, maybe a focus on something with a river, as you mentioned here. China may have a water crisis by 2035, and pollution keeps seeping into the soil, and then the river. Are you able to teach something about Chinese rivers and waters for sustainable, long term development ?

[@myyoutubename9467]

I see your comment two years later and would like to drop a line about the polution issue. Convinced by my own experience, the chinese government is doing their best to improved the environment. I left my hometown thirty years ago with a bad memory of a stinky lake just 15 minutes drive from our house. Though I visited the hometown almost every year. Now my parents bought a new appartment directly next to this lake, which does not stink anymore, even in the hottest summer and attracts plenty of migrant birds. Some elderly begin actually angling for hobby there again.

[@etlay5684]

We always use the last sentence to encourage people to work/study harder so they can have a better life and achieve a higher level.

[@BUKCOLLECTOR]

Brief Bio: I’m Al Fogel born in 1945 and at an early age began writing poems. In 1962 I was introduced to a neighbor who just returned from Avatar Meher Baba’s “ East west” gathering and handed me a book titled “The Everything and the Nothing” that included brief but powerful passages by Meher Baba that touched me deeply and i became a “ Baba Lover” In 2010 while on Jane Reichhold’s AHA website workshopping poems I befriended a Chinese man who helped me perfect my Senryu and Haibun. I am now considered one of the nations leading authorities on Tanka , Senryu, and Haibun. Here are some examples of each of my specialties. They are all from the contemporary American format. Senryu ( senryu is the humorous human side of haiku. Usually 3 lines but can be 2 or 1 line so long as it is 17 syllables or less). It is considered the humorous human side of haiku. For example, the following two of mine are horrific and heartbreaking dealing with the Holocaust): cattle cars - between the slats human eyes ~ Stutthof - the stench of burnt smoke from the chimneys (And here are some more examples): thrift store purchase inside the leather jacket a tarnished half-heart ~ dentist chair the hygienist removes my Bluetooth ~ Internet argument all his words in CAPS hers in EMOTICONS ~ after the divorce he spends more time at the dollar store ~ damsel in distress Clarke Kent still searching for a phone booth ~ cauliflower ears once a contender now boxing vegetables ~ under the influence - moonshine ~ Audubon sale all variety of seeds. . . early birds welcome ~ Buddhist fortune cookie the unfolded paper reads “ better luck next birth!” ~ sudden downpour. . . adults run for shelter ~ sidewalk cafe birds and people tweeting ~ Crowded crosswalk the “seeing eye” dog leads the way ~ deserted train depot a long line of tracks leading nowhere ~~ return to my youth lit by the tracks of Lionel trains. ~ Tanka: (Tanka is comprised of 5 lines of 31 syllables or less. Usually there are far less syllables) Here are 3 examples: returning home from a Jackson pollock exhibition I smear my face with paint and morph into art ~ crowded bus a young lady offers me her seat it seems like only yesterday I was offering mine ~ deserted train depot a conductor shouting “ All Aboard!” now a long line of tracks leading nowhere ~ Haibun: ( the haibun consists of a prose section with one or more haiku that must in some way relate to the prose. All Haibun have titles Here are some examples: The Mathematics of Retribution “Karma is unfathomable,” I inform her It’s late and our conversation turns heavy “ Seems simple to me, “my girlfriend responds. “If I murder you, then it’s reasonable that I will be murdered in this or another life to balance the ledger.” “ Not necessarily so” I’m quick to rejoin. “What if you murdered me in this life because I murdered you in a prior life karmic debts and dues are now equalized.” “But what if I get caught and I go to jail for life. Where’s the equal payback in that?” “As I said, karma is unfathomable.” We continue discussing reincarnation and then add the possibilities of “group karma” to the mix Finally, at about midnight, we fall asleep Stutthof - the stench of burnt hair from the chimneys ~~ Mama There were days when I pretended to be too sick to go to school - - just for mamas loving embrace -her arms the heat of home Even with the onset of dementia, her cheerfulness was so contagious it was a joy being around her despite the illness. She made everyone laugh with her spontaneous unpredictable behavior. nursing home bumper wheelchair her favorite pastime Once a week I would whisk her away from the assisted-living facility and we would spend several hours together -grabbing a meal or frequenting some of her favorite second-hand stores where she loved to shop and donate clothes. When we drove to her favorite thrift in November, her dementia worsened. thrift store the dress mama donated she wants to buy On a cold December morn mama passed. The funeral was simple. There was a light drizzle as the family gathered at the gravesite. One by one, with eyes full of rain, we said our last goodbyes. autumn twilight - oh mama tuck me under hug me one more time ~ ‘Round Midnight It was a huge ballroom on the top floor of a building on Broadway --an important midtown crossroads in the heart of the Great White Way. My uncle still talks with reverence about how -in his heyday -he would travel by rail to the corner of Lenox and walk inside to the beat of jungle music. Who knew what to expect? One night you might be listening with rapt attention to Theloneous Monk and Dizzy Gillespie the godfathers of bebop in their signature beret caps, or the Nicholas Brothers flashing their wild acrobatic spins and splits, or enchanted by the sweet taste of Brown Sugar -with Bojangles out front. And when the Bird was in flight, even the moon was not high enough. But in 1940 the ballroom closed its doors to make way for a commercial housing development and another kind of night. Harlem The A-train replaced by the Bullet ~ Atlantic City New Jersey I had just graduated from high school I remember stopping for saltwater taffy -as evening journeyed slowly into night. Nearing curfew, we sat on a protruded sandy enclave--holding hands, looking out at the ocean, not saying much. In the distance the lights from an ocean liner flickered as the night kept coming on in... first “french kiss” under the boardwalk “over the moon!” ~~ All love, Al

[@Sam-ef3bj]

How To Write a Chinese Poem A well-known Japanese poet was asked how to compose a Chinese poem. "The usual Chinese poem is four lines," he explained. "The first line contains the initial phrase; the second line, the continuation of that phrase; the third line turns from this subject and begins a new one; and the fourth line brings the first three lines together. A popular Japanese song illustrates this: Two daughters of a silk merchant live in Kyoto. The elder is twenty, the younger, eighteen. A soldier may kill with his sword, But these girls slay men with their eyes."

[@Kid_Ikaris]

The sun along the mountain bows The Yellow River flows to the sea You will enjoy a grander sight If you climb to a greater height

[@user-fk7ir5ug9s]

someday... i hope i can understand C.Poem

[@romancandle416]

Why am I crying?

[@Johasi15]

How about 《诗经》Shījīng 《关雎》 (Guān Jū)? I want to know more about it.

[@twilight7457]

Hi, Could you teach the poems in the novel "dream of the red mansion"? I love the poems in the novel, all of them, but don't understand them very well. It would be nice if you could read and explain their meanings. Thank you so much.

[@davidbyosse315]

Isn’t he related to Su shi? Or is Su Shi related to zhao something?

[@taurantnguyen1664]

In Sino-Vietnamese Đăng Quán Tước lâu Bạch nhật y sơn tận, Hoàng Hà nhập hải lưu. Dục cùng thiên lý mục, cánh thướng nhất tằng lâu. & In Mandarin, dēng guàn què lóu bái rì yī shān jìn, huáng hé rù hǎi liú 。 yù qióng qiān lǐ mù, gèng shàng yī céng lóu 。

[@Veraloska]

你好漂亮！

[@anna-friend]

Hello, very beautiful! What's the exact meaning of 依? Also may I know if 流 is a verb or noun in this context?

[@weiH-ue1vs]

"依" means "depend on" "流" means "flow" 依 and 流 are both verbs.

[@zatrusofnietzche2281]

Hi . I wonder if anyone knows a Chinese poem about a fruit tree (possibly a plum tree). The poem talks about no path or sign is needed to the tree because people will make a natural path to good things ( good teachers ! ). Id like to write the poem for my Shifu

[@wing-ro8nf]

桃李不言，下自成蹊

[@emeritusdavidteo5553]

The meaning in "如意娘"?

[@zbigniewadamowicz2658]

WhAt's the meaning of 穷 in this poem ?

[@ranranshi]

Other sources have: 欲窮

[@zhwang7007]

It means try to see the horizon

[@aurelio4790]

穷 can mean “exhaust” - “(if you) want to exhaust a 1,000 Li view”. This is also the meaning behind 穷 in 无穷 (limitless). 窮 is just the traditional form of this character - same word.

[@aurelio4790]

穷 can mean “exhaust” - “(if you) want to exhaust a 1,000 Li view”. This is also the meaning behind 穷 in 无穷 (limitless). 窮 is just the traditional form of this character - same word.

[@naomeechen]

我最喜歡的女詞家.李清照 kzbin.info/www/bejne/r526foGka6aZjM0

[@muhammadtaufiknurhidayat396]

please subtitle Indonesia language 😭😭😭😭

[@kristineshainacd2905]

来是就木会

[@look007456]

no english subtitle,come from china

[@WellBehavedForeigner]

This is not relaxing at all please give a warning

[@user-nv5ix3ib5b]

You need to do a better job.