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?