Thought I might attempt to provide an idea of how Chinese poems compare to their English counterparts when translated. What do you make of the following? (Hopefully the browser will correctly render the text.) How about examples of non-English / non-Chinese counterparts? How much meaning is lost in translation (for any type of written work)?
春晓 Spring Dawn
春眠不觉晓 I slumbered as the spring dawn passed me by
处处闻啼鸟 All around I hear birds cry
夜来风雨声 At night comes the sound of wind and rain
花落知多少 Who knows how many petals lay slain
入黄溪闻猿 Entering the Yellow Stream, Hearing Primates
溪路千里曲 The stream forever twists and turns
哀猿何处鸣 While a primate yearns in sorrow
孤臣泪已尽 The rejected servant cries no more
虚作断肠声 Despair heard only on the morrow
江雪 Snow River
千山鸟飞绝 A thousand hills, no birds in flight
万径人纵灭 A thousand paths, no tracks in sight
故舟蓑笠翁 A lonely boat, an old man and a mino
独钓寒江雪 A lonely fisherman, on a river of snow
静夜思 Thoughts on a Still Night
床前明月光 Moonlight bathes my bedroom floor
疑是地上霜 Seems like frost on the ground
举头望明月 I look up, gazing at the moon in awe
低头思故乡 I look down, thoughts of home profound
春雪 Snow in Spring
新年都未有芳化 Spring has come though no flowers show
二月初惊见草芽 Only grass shoots startle, take root and grow
白雪却嫌春色晚 Still white snow dislikes how spring is late to rise
故穿庭树作飞花 So through pavilion and trees, like blossoms it flies
望天门山 Viewing Heaven's Gate Mountains
天门中断楚江开 The River Chu cleaves heaven's gate in twain
碧水东流至此回 Its clear waters flowing east homeward bound
两岸青山相对出 On the banks mountain peaks compete to reign
故帆一片日边来 A sail rides the sun without a sound
春晓 Spring Dawn
春眠不觉晓 I slumbered as the spring dawn passed me by
处处闻啼鸟 All around I hear birds cry
夜来风雨声 At night comes the sound of wind and rain
花落知多少 Who knows how many petals lay slain
入黄溪闻猿 Entering the Yellow Stream, Hearing Primates
溪路千里曲 The stream forever twists and turns
哀猿何处鸣 While a primate yearns in sorrow
孤臣泪已尽 The rejected servant cries no more
虚作断肠声 Despair heard only on the morrow
江雪 Snow River
千山鸟飞绝 A thousand hills, no birds in flight
万径人纵灭 A thousand paths, no tracks in sight
故舟蓑笠翁 A lonely boat, an old man and a mino
独钓寒江雪 A lonely fisherman, on a river of snow
静夜思 Thoughts on a Still Night
床前明月光 Moonlight bathes my bedroom floor
疑是地上霜 Seems like frost on the ground
举头望明月 I look up, gazing at the moon in awe
低头思故乡 I look down, thoughts of home profound
春雪 Snow in Spring
新年都未有芳化 Spring has come though no flowers show
二月初惊见草芽 Only grass shoots startle, take root and grow
白雪却嫌春色晚 Still white snow dislikes how spring is late to rise
故穿庭树作飞花 So through pavilion and trees, like blossoms it flies
望天门山 Viewing Heaven's Gate Mountains
天门中断楚江开 The River Chu cleaves heaven's gate in twain
碧水东流至此回 Its clear waters flowing east homeward bound
两岸青山相对出 On the banks mountain peaks compete to reign
故帆一片日边来 A sail rides the sun without a sound