百啭千声随意移
A hundred trills, a thousand notes, moving at will;
山花红紫树高低
Red and purple flowers, trees tall and low.
始知锁向金笼听
Now I know: to hear it locked in a golden cage
不及林间自在啼
Cannot match its free song in the woods.
What the poem means
A songbird moves freely among colorful flowers and trees, changing its song. Listening to it in a golden cage cannot equal hearing it sing freely in the woods.
Meet the poet
Ouyang Xiu was a Song writer. This poem celebrates a bird singing freely.
Ouyang Xiu · More poems →