Japanese Lesson - Tang Poems

Poetry lessons continue into higher school levels too, it seems. I was asked to observe a junior high Japanese lesson on Kanji poems together with all the other teachers the other day. I was really surprised that they used old Chinese poems recited in onyomi (Chinese pronunciation) to teach rhythmic patterns, and even more surprised to see one such Tang poem in the kids' books that I knew in school myself.

1chun 2mian 4bu 2jue 3xiao
4chu 4chu 2wen 2ti 3niao
4ye 2lai 1feng 3yu 1sheng
1hua 4luo 1zhi 1duo 3shao

Asleep unaware it's dawn in spring
Hear on every side the birds sing
Came a storm at the night
Who ever cares how many blossoms had fallen

(translation from SuMOnelse)

The kids were being introduced to the meaning of the poem together with a Japanese adaption, with it's own rhythm and stress, though to me it sounded really different and perhaps a little less structured than the original. It can get really difficult to understand Chinese poems since they can and do omit individual characters from compound words to make each line fall into the 5 or 7 syllable pattern.

I wish I knew more of what was going on, because it would have been a really interesting comparison of language, culture and adaptation. I reckon this crosses more into the realm of literature and academia, seeing as it's a study of verse structure and intonation, and so might appeal more to people who have a high level of language ability and can afford to spend time on more intellectual pursuits. I remember when I first came across this in secondary school and was quite inclined to throw it out the window because I wasn't good enough in Mandarin to appreciate fine verse. Good thing my classmates were the creative type, and came up with a jolly good filk, which I remember way better than the original.

1chun 2mian 4bu 2jue 3xiao
4chu 4chu 2wen 2zi 3yao
4ye 2lai 1ba 3zhang 1sheng
4bu 1zhi 3si 1duo 3shao

Sleeping in spring, unaware that
I'm bitten by mosquitoes everywhere
In the night there are slapping sounds
Who knows how many have died?

I was subsequently asked to recite the Chinese version of the poem for the kids in English class as part of the explanation of the word "poem". The fun part was watching them stunned mullets realize that they'd already learned it in another subject, and that it sounds really different in its original form. Score one for internationalization!