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Lotus-Picking Song

采莲曲 · Wang Changling · 唐

Chinese · Pinyin · English
荷hé叶yè罗luó裙qún一yí色sè裁cái

Green skirts and lotus leaves seem cut from one cloth;

芙fú蓉róng向xiàng脸liǎn两liǎng边biān开kāi

Lotus flowers open beside the gatherers’ faces.

乱luàn入rù池chí中zhōng看kàn不bú见jiàn

They blend into the pond and vanish from sight;

闻wén歌gē始shǐ觉jué有yǒu人rén来lái

Only their singing tells us someone is there.

Meaning

Green skirts blend with lotus leaves, and faces appear among the flowers. As the boats move deeper into the pond, the gatherers vanish from sight. Their singing reveals where they are.

About the poet

Wang Changling was a Tang poet known for seven-character quatrains.

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