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Chinese Poem: 乡愁 Xiangchou (Nostalgia) by 余光中 Yu Guangzhong

By Ling-Ling Lisa Shih
From Ling-LingChinese.com

Yu Guangzhong (余光中),a Contemporary poet

Yu Guangzhong_Wikipedia

乡愁 余光中 乡愁 余光中

余光中

余光中

乡愁 by 余光中

原文

小时侯 乡愁是一枚小小的邮票
我在这头 母亲在那头
长大后 乡愁是一张窄窄的船票
我在这头 新娘在那头

后来啊乡愁是一方矮矮的坟墓
我在外头 母亲在里头
而现在 乡愁是一湾浅浅的海峡
我在这头 大陆在那头

Nostalgia

by Yu Guangzhong

When I was a child,
Nostalgia seemed a small stamp:
“Here am I
And there ……my mother.”

Then I was a grown-up,
Nostalgia became a traveling ticket:
“Here am I
And there……my bride.”

During the later years,
Nostalgia turned to be a graveyard:
“Here am I
And yonder……my mother.”

And now at present,
Nostalgia looms large to be a channel:
“Here am I
And yonder……my Continent!”

Lyric in PDF: Xiang Chou_Pinyin and Chinese character

xiāng chóu yú guāng zhōng xiǎo shí hou4 xiāng chóu shì yī méi xiǎo xiǎo
乡愁 by 余光 中 小时 候◆ 乡愁 是 一 枚 小小
de yóu piào wǒ zài zhè tóu mǔ qīn zài nà tóu zhǎng dà hòu xiāng chóu
的 邮票 我 在 这 头 母亲 在 那 头 长大 后 乡愁
shì yī zhāng zhǎi zhǎi de chuán piào wǒ zài zhè tóu xīn niáng
是 一 张窄窄 的 船票 我 在 这 头 新娘
zài nà tóu hòu lái ā xiāng chóu shì yī fāng ǎi ǎi de fén mù
在 那 头 后来 啊 乡愁 是 一方 矮 矮 的 坟墓
wǒ zài wài tóu mǔ qīn zài lǐ tou ér xiàn zài xiāng chóu shì yī
我 在外 头 母亲 在 里头 而 现在 乡愁 是 一
wān qiǎn qiǎn de hǎi xiá wǒ zài zhè tóu dà lù zài nà tóu
湾 浅 浅 的 海峡 我 在 这 头 大陆 在 那 头

See the following for different translation versions of this poem:

blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_4e276d2c0102dydc.html)

Nostalgia

translation: 杨钟琰

When I was a child,
Nostalgia seemed a small stamp:
“Here am I
and there my mother.”

Then I was a grown-up,
Nostalgia became a traveling ticket:
“Here am I
And there my bride.”

During the later years
Nostalgia turned to be a graveyard:
“Here am I
And yonder my mother.”

And now at present
Nostalgia looms large to be a channel:
“Here am I
and yonder my Continent!”

Vocabulary for Xiang Chou (Nostalgia)

ID Chinese Trad. Pinyin English Definition
ID Chinese Trad. Pinyin English Definition
1 乡愁 鄉愁 xiāngchóu homesickness; nostalgia
2 余光中 yúguāng

zhōng

 The poet’s name
3 中 zhōng China; Chinese; surname Zhong; within; among; in; middle; center; while (doing sth); during; (dialect) OK; all right
4 小时候 小時候 xiǎo shíhou in one’s childhood
5 是 昰 shì is; are; am; yes; to be; variant of 是 ; (used in given names)
6 一 yī one; 1; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; “one” radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. for greater clarity when spelling out numbers digit by digit
7 枚 méi surname Mei; classifier for coins, rings, badges, pearls, sporting medals, rockets, satellites etc; tree trunk; whip; wooden peg, used as a gag for marching soldiers (old)
8 小小 xiǎoxiǎo very small; very few; very minor
9 的 de of; ~’s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute); (used to form a nominal expression); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis)
10 邮票 郵票 yóu piào (postage) stamp; Classifiers: 枚
11 我 wǒ I; me; my
12 在 zài (located) at; (to be) in; to exist; in the middle of doing sth; (indicating an action in progress)
13 这 這 zhè this; these; (commonly pr. before a classifier, esp. in Beijing)
14 头 頭 tóu head; hair style; the top; end; beginning or end; a stub; remnant; chief; boss; side; aspect; first; leading; classifier for pigs or livestock; Classifiers:个
15 母亲 母親 mǔ qīn mother; also pr.
16 那 nà that; those; then (in that case); commonly pr. before a classifier, esp. in Beijing
17 长大 長大 zhǎngdà to grow up
18 后 後 hòu surname Hou; empress; queen; back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later
19 张 張 zhāng surname Zhang; to open up; to spread; sheet of paper; classifier for flat objects, sheet; classifier for votes
20 窄 zhǎi narrow; narrow-minded; badly off
21 船票 chuánpiào ship ticket
22 新娘 xīnniáng bride
23 后来 後來 hòu lái afterwards; later
24 啊 ā interjection of surprise; Ah!; Oh!
25 一方 yī fāng a party (in a contract or legal case); one side; area; region
26 矮 ǎi low; short (in length)
27 坟墓 墳墓 fén mù sepulcher; tomb
28 在外 zài wài outer
29 里头 裡頭 lǐ tou inside; interior
30 而 ér and; as well as; and so; but (not); yet (not); (indicates causal relation); (indicates change of state); (indicates contrast)
31 现在 現在 xiàn zài now; at present; at the moment; modern; current; nowadays
32 湾 灣 wān bay; gulf; to cast anchor; to moor (a boat)
33 浅 淺 qiǎn shallow; light (color)
34 海峡 海峽 hǎi xiá channel; strait
35 大陆 大陸 dà lù mainland China (reference to the PRC); continent; mainland; Classifiers: 个

Videos 余光中《乡愁》朗诵

Downloadable Worksheets 

Xiang Chou_Lyric_Worksheet

Xiang Chou_Pinyin and Chinese character

Xiang Chou_Vocabulary Worksheets

Xiangchou_flashcards

Xiang Chou_Vocabulary List

Vocabulary Quiz Worksheet for Nostalgia

Questions for Class Discussion:

  1. How many stanzas can the poem be divided into? Can you find different time periods in the poem? 
  2. What are the four key nouns/objects the poet uses to symbolize “homesickness?”
  3. What are the measure words used with these four objects/nouns?

Vocabulary Quiz Worksheet for Nostalgia (乡愁)

By Ling-Ling Shih

Select an appropriate time phrase, location vocabulary, or a measure word to fill in the following blanks.

后来    现在  长大后   小时候

这头   里头   那头

湾      张    方    枚

__________

乡愁是一_____小小的邮票

我在这头 母亲在_________

__________

乡愁是一______窄窄的船票

我在这头 新娘在那头

__________啊

乡愁是一______矮矮的坟墓

我在外头 母亲在________

而__________

乡愁是一______浅浅的海峡

我在________ 大陆在那头

Listen the clip of the following video between 14:30 to 15:45 to hear the poem and see the poet in the video:

For Teacher only: Lesson_Plan for YuGuangZhong_Poem-Nostalgia or go to the following link: Lesson Plan for Yu Guang Zhong’s Xiang Chou

By Ling-Ling Lisa Shih
From Ling-LingChinese.com

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