Recent content on East Asia Student
This is a translation and annotation of the poem 聽安萬善吹觱篥歌 (Tīng Ān Wànshàn Chuī Bìlì Gē), “Listening to An Wanshan Play a Bamboo Pipe Song”, by the Tang dynasty poet 李頎 (Lǐ Qí). The poem is #051 in the collection 300 Tang Poems. 歌 in the title probably refers to the music that 安萬善 is playing, but it could instead refer to the poem itself. Many other poems in the collection use 歌 as a label for the…
This is a translation and annotation of the poem 長相思·其一 (Cháng Xiāng Sī · Qí Yī), “Endless Mutual Longing, Pt. 1”, by the Tang dynasty poet 李白 (Lǐ Bái). The poem is #080 in the collection 300 Tang Poems. 長相思·其一 Cháng Xiāng Sī · Qí Yī [long] [mutual] [longing] [its] [one] Endless Mutual Longing, Pt. 1 長相思，在長安， cháng xiāng sī, zài Cháng Ān [long] [mutual] [longing] [at] [long] [peace] Endless mutual…
This is a translation and annotation of the poem 宿府 (Sù Fǔ), “Lodging at Headquarters”, by the Tang dynasty poet 杜甫 (Dù Fǔ). The poem is #188 in the collection 300 Tang Poems. 宿府 Sù Fǔ [lodge] [office] Lodging at Headquarters 清秋幕府井梧寒， qīng qiū mù fǔ jǐng wú hán [clear] [autumn] [camp] [office] [well] [parasol tree] [cold] Clear autumn at the headquarters, the wellside parasol tree cold; 獨宿江城蠟炬殘。…
This is a translation and annotation of the poem 八月十五夜贈張功曹 (Bā Yuè Shíwǔ Yè Zèng Zhāng Gōngcáo), “Eighth Month Fifteenth Night, Presented to Merit Officer Zhang”, by the Tang dynasty poet 韓愈 (Hán Yù). The poem is #067 in the collection 300 Tang Poems. 八月十五夜贈張功曹 Bā Yuè Shíwǔ Yè Zèng Zhāng Gōngcáo [eight] [month] [fifteen] [night] [present to] [Zhang] [merit] [office] Eighth Month Fifteenth Night,…
This is a translation and annotation of the poem 送李少府貶峽中王少府貶長沙 (Sòng Lǐ Shàofǔ Biǎn Xiázhōng Wáng Shàofǔ Biǎn Chángshā), “Seeing off Deputy Prefect Li, Demoted to Xiazhong, and Deputy Prefect Wang, Demoted to Changsha”, by the Tang dynasty poet 高適 (Gāo Shì). The poem is #176 in the collection 300 Tang Poems. 送李少府貶峽中王少府貶長沙 Sòng Lǐ Shàofǔ Biǎn Xiázhōng Wáng Shàofǔ Biǎn Chángshā [send] [Li] [lesser]…
This is a translation and annotation of the poem 琴歌 (Qín Gē), “Zither Song”, by the Tang dynasty poet 李頎 (Lǐ Qí). The poem is #049 in the collection 300 Tang Poems. 琴歌 Qín Gē [zither] [song] Zither Song 主人有酒歡今夕， zhǔ rén yǒu jiǔ huān jīn xī [host] [person] [have] [wine] [enjoy] [now] [evening] The host has wine to enjoy this evening; 請奏鳴琴廣陵客。 qǐng zòu míng qín guǎng líng kè [invite] [play] [sound]…
This is a translation and annotation of the poem 聽箏 (Tīng Zhēng), “Listening to the Zither”, by the Tang dynasty poet 李端 (Lǐ Duān). The poem is #239 in the collection 300 Tang Poems. 聽箏 Tīng Zhēng [listen] [zither] Listening to the Zither 鳴箏金粟柱， míng zhēng jīn sù zhù [sound] [zither] [gold] [millet] [peg] Sounding the zither, its bridges like golden grain; 金粟 can also mean “osmanthus”…
This is a close translation and annotation of a text from 敦煌 (Dūnhuáng). The text is a standard form letter for apologising for being too drunk, and has been featured in Letters of Note. It was written in the year 856 AD, during the Tang dynasty. © The British Library Board; SRE Cat. no. 172, 856, Found in Dunhuang, Cave 17, Ink on paper, Or.8210/S.2200. 醉後失禮謝書 Zùi Hòu Shī Lǐ Xiè Shū [drunk]…
This is a rough translation and annotation of the poem 遊山西村 (Yóu Shān Xī Cūn), ‘Roaming in Mountain West Villages’, by the Song Dynasty Chinese poet 陸游 (Lù Yóu). 遊山西村 Yóu Shān Xī Cūn [roam] [mountain] [west] [village] Roaming in Mountain West Villages 莫笑農家臘酒渾， mò xiào nóng jiā là jǐu hún [not] [smile] [farm] [house] [twelfth month] [wine] [dirty] Do not laugh at the impurities of the…
This is a rough translation and annotation of the poem 自問 (黑花滿眼絲滿頭) Zì Wèn (Hēi Huā Mǎn Yǎn Sī Mǎn Tóu), ‘Self Questioning’, by the Tang Dynasty Chinese poet 白居易 (Bái Jūyì). 自問 Zì Wèn [self] [question] Self Questioning 黑花滿眼絲滿頭， hēi huā mǎn yǎn sī mǎn tóu [black] [flower] [fill] [eye] [silk] [fill] [head] Dark flowers fill the eyes, threads cover the head; 早衰因病病因愁。 zǎo shuāi yīn bìng…
This is a rough translation and annotation of the poem 古風 桃花開東園 (Gǔfēng: Táohuā Kāi Dōng Yuán), ‘Peach Blossom Blooming in the East Garden’, by the Tang Dynasty Chinese poet 李白 (Lǐ Bái). 桃花開東園 Táo Huā Kāi Dōng Yuán [peach] [flower] [open] [east] [garden] Peach Blossom Blooming in the East Garden 桃花開東園 táo huā kāi dōng yuán [peach] [flower] [open] [east] [garden] Peach blossom blooming…
This is a rough translation and annotation of the poem 焚書坑 (Fén Shū Kēng), ‘The Book Burning Pit’, by the Tang Dynasty Chinese poet 章碣 (Zhāng Jié). 焚書坑 Fén Shū Kēng [burn] [book] [pit] The Book Burning Pit 竹帛煙銷帝業虛， zhú bó yān xiāo dì yè xū [bamboo] [silk] [smoke] [dissipate] [emperor] [achievement] [empty] As bamboo and silk smoke clears, the Emperor's achievements are for nothing; (竹帛…
If you’re studying Japanese on Duolingo, you might find the Duolingo Japanese vocab lists on Fandom useful. Here’s a little browser tool to make it easier to import the Japanese vocabulary on those Duolingo Fandom pages into Anki. It’s a browser bookmark that you draw on to your browser bookmark toolbar, and then click when you’re on one of the Duolingo Fandom Japanese…
This is a literal translation and annotation of the poem 《董賊潛懷廢立圖》(Dǒng Zéi Qiánhuái Fèilì Tú, “The Traitor Dong Zhuo Secretly Harbours a Deposition Plan”) from 三國演義 (Sānguó Yǎnyì, Romance of the Three Kingdoms). 董卓 (Dǒng Zhuó) was a warlord who is depicted in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and is described by this poem in Chapter 4. The poem is sung with modern pronunciation in the…
Amid the Covid-19 outbreak, a Japanese institution sent aid packages to China with messages of encouragement in modern Chinese (中国加油) and more interestingly in Classical Chinese. According to Xinhua: “The batch of aid included 20,000 masks and a number of infrared thermometers donated by the Japanese HSK Bureau to colleges and universities in the central Chinese province of Hubei, whose…
This is a rough translation and annotation of the poem 春泛若耶溪 (Chūn Fàn Ruòyé Xī), ‘Spring Drifting on Ruoye Creek’, by the Tang Dynasty Chinese poet 綦毋潛 (Qíwú Qián). 若耶溪 is to the south-east of Shaoxing in modern Jiangsu Province. 春泛若耶溪 Chūn Fàn Ruòyé Xī [spring] [drift] [Ruo] [Ye] [creek] Spring Drifting on Ruoye Creek 幽意無斷絕， Yōu yì wú duàn jué, [secluded] [thought] [not have] [sever]…
This is a rough translation and annotation of the poem 司馬將軍歌 (Sīmǎ Jiāngjūn Gē), ‘Sima General Song’, by the Tang Dynasty Chinese poet 李白 (Lǐ Bái). The subtitle of the poem is 以代隴上健兒陳安 (Yĭ Dài Lŏngshàng Jiàn’ér Chén’ān): ‘On Behalf of Longshang Soldier Chen’An’. 司馬將軍歌 Sīmǎ Jiāngjūn Gē [Sima][] [General] [Song] Sima General Song 以代隴上健兒陳安 Yĭ Dài Lŏngshàng…
This is a rough translation and annotation of the poem 長沙過賈誼宅 (Chángshā Guò Jiǎyì Zhái), ‘In Changsha, Passing by Jia Yi’s Residence’, by the Tang Dynasty Chinese poet 劉長卿 (Liú Chángqīng). 長沙過賈誼宅 Chángshā Guò Jiǎyì Zhái [Changsha][] [pass] [Jiayi][] [Residence] In Changsha, Passing by Jia Yi's Residence 三年謫宦此棲遲， Sān nián zhé huàn cǐ qī chí, [three] [year] [exile] [official]…
This is a very rough translation and annotation of the poem 謁衡嶽廟遂宿嶽寺題門樓 (Yè Héngyuè Miào Suì Sù Yuè Sì Tí Ménlóu), ‘An Inscription on the Gatehouse after Paying Respects at the Mt Heng Shrine and Lodging at the Mountain Temple’, by the Tang Dynasty Chinese poet 韓愈 (Hán Yù). If you have any suggestions, please share them in the comments at the end of the page. Note that the goal here is…
This is a very rough translation and annotation of the poem 早發白帝城 (Zǎo Fā Báidì Chéng), ‘Setting Off Early from Baidi City’, by the Tang Dynasty Chinese poet 李白 (Lǐ Bái). Note that the goal here is to make the original text more accessible, not to provide a conversion into English. Photo from Pop Robin Cards 早發白帝城 Zǎo Fā Báidì Chéng [early] [set off] [White] [Emperor] [city] Setting…
This is a very rough translation and annotation of the poem 勞勞亭 (Láoláo Tíng), ‘Pavilion of Misery’, by the Tang Dynasty Chinese poet 李白 (Lǐ Bái). If you have any suggestions, please share them in the comments at the end of the page. Note that the goal here is to make the original text more accessible, not to provide a conversion into English. 勞勞亭 Láoláo Tíng [sad] [sad] [pavilion]…
The song 《时间都去哪儿了》 has been popular recently in China, especially since it was performed by 王铮亮 (Wáng Zhēngliàng) on 春晚. It came up on the radio again just now so I thought I’d have a go at annotating the lyrics in English. The lyrics were written by 陈曦 (Chén Xī) and the tune by 董冬冬 (Dǒng Dōngdōng - I know, right?). As always, this is an annotation not a translation - the English here…
A reader sent me this “Chinese” text and asked if I could translate it, apparently having found this ancient post about free Chinese translation. “冊月水三 了口臼尺 山月了 七口 水口山心口口內 山月心心三力 匹工七了, 七升三 下工尺弓七 匹升三匹水戶口工內七 七升工弓 心三巨. 七升三 心月弓七 尺月匹三尺 七口 月尺尺工人三 月七 七升工弓 冊工力山月了 戶口工內七 工內 七升三 心三巨, 山工心心 官三 三心工冊工內月七三力！” It was pretty clear from the start this wasn’t standard Chinese! I did wonder for a…
The publishers of ‘Tuttle Reading and Writing Chinese’ were kind enough to send me a copy to review, so I’ve written up my thoughts on the book here. ‘Reading and Writing Chinese’ bills itself as “a comprehensive guide to the Chinese writing system”. It wasn’t immediately clear to me what this book actually was, and I assumed it was going to be a…
This is a very rough translation and annotation of the poem 宮中行樂詞 一 (Gōngzhōng Xínglè Cí), ‘Lyrics for Wandering in the Palace I’, by the Tang Dynasty Chinese poet 李白 (Lǐ Bái). The poem is often referred to by its first line: 小小生金屋. If you have any suggestions, please share them in the comments at the end of the page. Note that the goal here is to make the original text more…
Here’s a list of my favourite Chinese learning tools that I’ve distilled over several years of learning Mandarin Chinese. These are of course just my personal preferences for Chinese learning tools - they’re the ones I’ve used and stuck with as I’ve continued studying. I can be guilty of finding one tool I like and sticking to it without trying out new options, so…
I got a question from a reader asking what ‘the main Chinese language’ is, and my first instinct was to just send an email back saying “Mandarin Chinese”. I think that is the answer the reader wanted - they were planning to start learning Chinese but weren’t totally clear which language that actually meant. However, I thought the question of ‘the main Chinese…
What is the best Android Chinese input method? I’ve used Android for quite a while now and need to input Chinese pretty much constantly on a daily basis, mostly for text chatting with people. I have another requirement for the input method on my phone, though: it has to be good at Chinese and English input. The combination is surprisingly rare in Android input methods I’ve tried.…
This is a very rough translation and annotation of the poem 遠別離 (Yuǎn Biélí), ‘Distant Parting’, by the Tang Dynasty Chinese poet 李白 (Lǐ Bái). If you have any suggestions, please share them in the comments at the end of the page. Note that the goal here is to make the original text more accessible, not to provide a conversion into English. 遠別離 Yuǎn Biélí [distant] [part] [leave]…
This is a very rough translation and annotation of the poem 醉花陰 (Zuì Huā Yīn), ‘Drunk in Blossom Shade’, by the Song Dynasty Chinese poet 李清照 (Lǐ Qīngzhào). Note that the words of the poem are Li Qingzhao’s lyrics for a folk melody called ‘Drunk in Blossom Shade’. As always, if you have any suggestions or criticisms, please share them in the comments at the end of the…
This is a translation of the short story 尾巴 (‘Tail’) by the Chinese author 汪曾祺 (Wang Zengqi). The story can be found in the anthology 小说三篇 (‘Three Novels’). This story was one of three texts on my final year Chinese → English translation exam at university. By luck I happened to have translated it for practice some time before the exam, so I was already half-familiar with…
This is a very rough translation and annotation of the poem 苦熱行 (Kǔ Rè Xíng), ‘Ballad of Suffering from the Heat’, by the Tang Dynasty Chinese poet 王維 (Wáng Wéi). As always, if you have any suggestions or criticisms, please share them in the comments at the end of the page. 苦熱行 Kǔ Rè Xíng [suffer] [hot] [ballad] Ballad of Suffering from the Heat 赤日滿天地， Chì rì mǎn tiāndì, [red] [sun]…
This is just a quick post to say many thanks to Kensio Software for providing custom Wordpress development and web development for East Asia Student. This site was originally a Wordpress site, and Kensio Software helped with custom Wordpress theme design. When I decided to convert EAS to a static website to make it faster and cheaper to run, Kensio Software was also able to help with the custom…
As you might expect, I have a lot of content in CJK languages (Chinese, Japanese and Korean) here on this site. Currently 99% of it is modern and classical Chinese, but the balance will slowly shift over time. My situation is slightly unusual, though, in that I’m always mixing various languages together on one page. On a basic level, this doesn’t matter at all. You can easily have…
How to get a Chinese name is a question that comes up constantly on China-related forums, sub-reddits etc. If you’re learning Chinese then you probably do want to get a Chinese name, because European names just don’t really work in Mandarin with its limited set of valid syllables. As it comes up so frequently, and I’ve now had several questions about it via the site, I thought…
How do you type Chinese quotation marks on a Mac? I got a question from a reader about this and didn’t know myself (I don’t own any Apple products), so I’ve hunted around a bit online and figured out the below. In short, there are two ways to input Chinese quotation marks on Mac OS: 1) by typing in key-codes for them, and 2) by setting up a Chinese input method that makes it more…
This is a very rough translation and annotation of the poem 送元二使安西 (Sòng Yuán Èr Shǐ Ānxī), ‘Seeing Off Yuan Er on His Mission to Anxi’, by the Tang Dynasty Chinese poet 王維 (Wáng Wéi). As always, if you have any suggestions or criticisms, please share them in the comments at the end of the page. 送元二使安西 Sòng Yuán Èr Shǐ Ānxī [see off] [Yuan] [Er] [send on mission] [An] [Xi] Seeing Off…
This is a very rough translation and annotation of the poem 酬虞部蘇員外過藍田別業不見留之作 (Chóu Yúbù Sū Tuánwài Guò Lántián Biéyè Bù Jiànliú Zhī Zuò), ‘Composed in Reply to Secretary Su of the Board of Concern, Who Passed By Lantian Residence But Did Not Stay’, by the Tang Dynasty Chinese poet 王維 (Wáng Wéi). As always, if you have any suggestions or criticisms, please share them in the comments at…
This is a very rough translation and annotation of the poem 辛夷塢 (Xīnyí Wù), ‘Magnolia Wall’, by the Tang Dynasty Chinese poet 王維 (Wáng Wéi). As always, if you have any suggestions or criticisms, please share them in the comments at the end of the page. 辛夷塢 Xīnyí Wù [magnolia][] [low wall] Magnolia Wall 木末芙蓉花， Mù mò fúróng huā, [tree] [end] [lotus][] [flower] On the end of a branch,…
This is a literal, line-by-line translation and annotation of 孫子 兵法 始計: the section Laying Plans, from Sun Zi’s Art of War. There are plenty of elegant, idiomatic translations of 孫子兵法 available elsewhere online. What I’m trying to make here is a very close but still readable translation that might be useful if you’re trying to study the text. I’m not an expert in Classical…
This is a very rough translation and annotation of the poem 欒家瀨 (Luán Jiā Lài), ‘Luan Family Rapids’, by the Tang Dynasty Chinese poet 王維 (Wáng Wéi). As always, if you have any suggestions or criticisms, please share them in the comments at the end of the page. 欒家瀨 Luán Jiā Lài [Luan] [family] [rapids] Luan Family Rapids 颯颯秋雨中， Sàsà qiū yǔ zhōng, [swish] [swish] [autumn] [rain] [in] In…
This is a very rough translation and annotation of the poem 欹湖 (Yī Hú), ‘Yi Lake’, by the Tang Dynasty Chinese poet 王維 (Wáng Wéi). As always, if you have any suggestions or criticisms, please share them in the comments at the end of the page. 欹湖 Yī Hú [Yi] [lake] Yi Lake 吹簫凌極浦， Chuī xiāo líng jí pǔ, [blow] [flute] [approach] [extreme] [shore] One plays the flute, crossing to a distant…
Chinese ebooks always seemed to me to be an excellent way to get more Chinese reading practice. They’re cheap, abundant, easy to access, etc. However, I’ve never been very pleased with the sources of Chinese ebooks that I’ve found. I tried Amazon UK, but the selection of Chinese ebooks there has always been extremely limited (maybe that will change in future). The stupid thing…
I got this email from a reader about studying an East Asian Language at university. As usual with these, I think it’s good to publish them on the site so that a) other people can answer the questions and b) other people can read the answers. I’m no expert on any of the things I write about, so it makes sense to open it all up to other people as much as possible.
I got this question about how to improve your Chinese listening skills from a visitor to the site: I just came across your site while looking for the lyrics to Joanna Wang’s “3 for dinner” (三个人的晚餐). Anyway, I am glad to have found them and I wanted to thank you for taking the time to write it out. I’m currently learning Mandarin, (for only about 3-4 months now). I’m…
Just a quick post on a Chinese time format for outputting the date and time in Chinese. Various programming languages let you construct date and time formats using a standard syntax (strftime, from C). I always find myself resetting the time and date format to Chinese for the clock in Cinnamon / GNOME, so I thought I’d make a quick note of this Chinese strftime date formatting: %Y年%m月%e日 %A…
This is a very rough translation and annotation of the poem 江雪 (Jiāng Xuě), ‘River Snow’, by the Tang Dynasty Chinese poet 柳宗元 (Liǔ Zōngyuán). As always, if you have any suggestions or criticisms, please share them in the comments at the end of the page. 江雪 Jiāng Xuě [river] [snow] River Snow 千山鳥飛絕 Qiān shān niǎo fēi jué [thousand] [mountain] [bird] [fly] [disappear] In a thousand…
I’ve finally got round to uploading the final PDF copy of my undergraduate dissertation and making it available online. I’m making it public here not because I think it’s good, but for the usual reason I try to share a lot of things related to my studies. I would find it interesting to see other people’s work and read about their experiences, so I try to share mine online.…
This is a very rough translation and annotation of the poem 櫻花落盡階前月 (Yīnghuā Luòjǐn Jiēqián Yuè), ‘Cherry Blossom Completely Falls Before the Steps Under the Moon’, by 李煜 (Lǐ Yù) of the Southern Tang. Note that this poem is part of the series 謝新恩 (Xiè Xīn Ēn) - ‘Gratitude for New Favour’, and the title given here is actually just the first line. As always, if you have any…
This is a very rough translation and annotation of the poem 相思 (Xiāngsī), ‘Yearning’, by the Tang Dynasty Chinese poet 王維 (Wáng Wéi). This is poem #227 in the 300 Tang Poems. As always, if you have any suggestions or criticisms, please share them in the comments at the end of the page. 相思 Xiāngsī [each other] [think] Yearning 紅豆生南國， Hóngdòu shēng nánguó, [red] [bean] [grow] [south]…