By Li Po
Li Po (AD. 705-762) lived during the golden age of Chinese poetry, the T'ang Dynasty, and perfected the shon poem known as the Chyue-chiu. "Spring Night" is an example of this form. A chyue-chiu consists of four lines, seven characters to a line. Each character in the first and second lines corresponds to each other, as do the characters in the third and fourth lines. The compact nature of Chinese allows for a great deal of movement within each line. In the poem, Cheng means City; lo Cheng is lo City . Lo is Li Po's abbreviation of Loyang, the capital city. Homesick, Li Po hears someone playing a flute and wonders who could be playing so intently and convincingly of home. SPRING NIGHT Whose jade flute spreads a flying sound?- Scattering this night's song of the broken willow, Filling the spring wind of Lo Cheng. In whom does not arise the ancestor's courtyard: home?