Welcome to the eighth lesson of this series of guide on traditional Chinese Poetry. Today, we are going to study the poem “A Small Pond” written by 杨万里 Yang Wanli (1127-1206 CE) of the Song Dynasty.

• Text and Background

泉眼无声惜细流，quán yǎn wú shēng xī xì liú ，

树阴照水爱晴柔。shù yīn zhào shuǐ ài qíng róu 。

小荷才露尖尖角，xiǎo hé cái lù jiān jiān jiǎo ，

早有蜻蜓立上头。zǎo yǒu qīng tíng lì shàng tóu 。

Meaning for each character

(the mouth of the spring) no sound cherish thin stream

tree shade reflect water love [sunny day] tenderness

small lotus only show pointy pointy tip

already [there is] (dragonfly) stand (top)

[] indicates a Chinese character translated into two or more words in English

() indicates two or more Chinese characters forming a single phrase, and therefore translated together

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find any fancy translations for this poem by Xu or other famed translators of Chinese poetry. Instead, you’ll find below a passage describing the poem’s general meanings in prose written by me.

The mouth of the spring silently lets out a thin stream of water, as if it is unwilling to let them go. The tree sheds its shade upon the water, as if it is enjoying the mirror image of itself and the tenderness of a sunny day (in summer) imbued in it. A small lotus had only shown its bud’s pointy tip above the water, when already a dragonfly is standing at the top of it.

Yang Wanli belonged to a rare breed of poets in the Song Dynasty. Whereas most people fancied the form of 词cí (basically, a form of poetry with varying line lengths) during that time, Yang was one of the few literary giants who stuck to the good old traditions of 诗shī. He was famous for writing about nature and capturing its sublime beauties in seemingly ordinary images. Thus, the poem at hand can be said to be an epitome of his poetic genius.

• Senses and Imagery

Lines 1&2 – 泉眼无声惜细流 quán yǎn wú shēng xī xì liú

树阴照水爱晴柔 shù yīn zhào shuǐ ài qíng róu

When describing natural sceneries, the order in which different objects in the surrounding are described is an important factor. In this little poem, the poet starts from the bottom of the pond and gradually moves his attention upwards.

We first get a look at the source of the pond’s water. As it turns out, this pond does not rely upon rainfalls or other waterways to avoid depletion; instead, it has its own spring, which emits a thin stream of water incessantly and silently. This depiction gives the pond a vibe of vigour vibrancy since it shows that the small pool of water is constantly being refilled and rejuvenated by the spring. In Chinese culture, such a spot would be called 活水huó shuǐ (alive water), which symbolises life, innovation and hope, as opposed to a pool of still water without a constant source, labelled 死水sǐ shuǐ (dead water), which gives the impression of death and decay.

After observing the bottom of the pond, our poet notices the reflection of a nearby tree upon the water surface. Although he does not describe the tree or its mirror image in any details, he does reveal in this line the weather of the particular day he saw all these beautiful sceneries: a warm and sunny one, possibly accompanied by soft and tender breezes, a much-appreciated rarity in summer times.

At first glance, these two lines seem to be a bit barren in its description of the sceneries. We only get to know some basic facts about the existence of a spring and a tree, without any detailed depictions of their beauties. However, the artistry of these opening lines lies not in the details but the tones. With two simple verbs, 惜xī(cherish) and 爱ài(love), the poet transforms an ordinary couplet of environmental depictions into a personified account of nature’s loveliness. The spring and the tree suddenly come into life and become beings filled with emotions of their own. The spring, as it turns out, is not really okay with letting out the small stream of water into the pond because it views the streamlet dearly. What’s more, the tree is like a narcissistic guy addicted to its own handsome mirror image. Instead of getting a detailed yet possibly bland picture of the pond, we have before our eyes a depiction of nature that seems to speak to us directly and show us its unique characters and beauty.

Lines 3&4 – 小荷才露尖尖角 xiǎo hé cái lù jiān jiān jiǎo

早有蜻蜓立上头 zǎo yǒu qīng tíng lì shàng tóu

We mentioned a couple of times that the poem was written in summer, but we only get this information for sure from the third line. This line shows the lotus flower still in its bud, which corresponds to a period roughly between late May to early June in summer.

Once again, the poet employs personification to paint a picture of the objects in and around the pond: an aspiring lotus bud just emerged from the water and a sharp-witted dragonfly finding its tip a perfect resting place during its flights. From the character of 露lù (show, reveal), we sense an eagerness from the lotus bud to break through the surface barrier of the pond and reach out for the warm summer’s day beyond. After all, it needs to be greeted by the outside air for it to bloom and prosper under the sun and show its full glory. Just as eager is the dragonfly, who may have actually anticipated the bud’s surfacing above water. With the phrases of “才cái…早有zǎo yǒu” (had only … already there is), the poet notes that the dragonfly was already standing atop of the bud when the latter had just emerged its tip from the water.

It is with these personified depictions that the poem reaches to an end. Every object or scenery depicted in this small poem, be it the jealous spring, the pompous tree, the diligent bud or the clever dragonfly, seems to live its own life. In their different yet sometimes intersecting paths of lives, they nonetheless share one common knowledge about the world they live in – that it is beautiful and worthy of being loved and cherished.

• Language Tips

Traditional Chinese Version

泉眼無聲惜細流，quán yǎn wú shēng xī xì liú ，

樹陰照水愛晴柔。shù yīn zhào shuǐ ài qíng róu 。

小荷才露尖尖角，xiǎo hé cái lù jiān jiān jiǎo ，

早有蜻蜓立上頭。zǎo yǒu qīng tíng lì shàng tóu 。

It is common for a famous poem to inspire proverbs or other phrases to be used in everyday conversations. This poem is no exception. Its third line, “小荷才露尖尖角 xiǎo hé cái lù jiān jiān jiǎo”, with the image of a small lotus bud trying to emerge above the surface of the pond, is often quoted when describing a talented young person similarly full of vigour and hope in his or her future.

• That’s all for this week! This poem is somewhat special because it is the last significant poem learnt by Chinese students in their first year at primary schools. This means that from the next lesson, we are going to start reading poems from grade two textbooks.