你,
Nĭ,
一會看我
Yī huì kàn wŏ
一會看雲。
Yī huì kàn yún.
我覺得
Wŏ juéde
你看我時很遠,
Nĭ kàn wŏ shí hĕn yuăn,
你看雲時很近。
Nĭ kàn yún shí hĕn jìn.
Translator’s Glossary
|
CHARACTER
|
PINYIN
|
DEFINITION
|
POSSIBLE SYNONYMS
|
|---|---|---|---|
| 和 | hé (conj.) | in addition to | and, plus, as well as |
| 會 | huì (n.) | a very brief period of time | moment, instant, split second, flash, minute |
| 近 | jìn (adv.) | with very little space between | near, nearby, close, close by, next to, in the vicinity of, approaching |
| 覺得 | juéde (v.) | to perceive by a sense or senses | think, feel, sense, get the idea, imagine, reflect |
| 看 | kàn (v.) | to direct one’s gaze toward someone or something | look at, glance at, stare at, see, watch, observe |
| 你 | nĭ (pron.) | referring to the person or people that the speaker is addressing | you |
| 時很 | shí hĕn (adv.) | at or during the time | when, while, at, during |
| 一 | yī (art. / adj.) | one single | a, one, single, lone, individual |
| 遠 | yuăn (adv.) | at, to, or by a great distance | far, far away, distant, remote, far-off, far-flung, away |
| 雲 | yún (n.) | visible masses of condensed water vapor floating in the atmosphere | clouds, nebulas, fog, mist |
| 我 | wŏ (pron.) | referring to the speaker | me, I |
Bio
Gu Cheng said that he wrote his first poems in a pigsty. Though he was born in Beijing, his family was forced to move to the coastal province of Shandong when Gu Cheng was only twelve years old. They were one of many families deported to the countryside during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1967), a period of heavy restrictions in China. The government made it illegal to publish literature or art, and in Shandong Gu Cheng’s formal education ended. He returned to Beijing and began to write a new kind of poetry that was personal and lyrical. He and other like-minded poets became known as “Misty Poets,” because the government criticized their poetry, calling it “obscure” and “misty.” He is known for wearing a cut-off piece of a pant leg on his head as a hat.