5 Chinese Poems to Help Improve Your Reading Skills

Chinese poems are a great for improving your Chinese language skills. Chinese poetry is melodic and does a fantastic job emphasizing the tones. So if you need help with your pronunciation or flow, poetry is the perfect way to assist you in these language learning goals (just remember, read out loud!). And luckily for you, Chinese has an outstanding collection of poetry ranging from the traditional to the modern age. Here are 5 Chinese poems designed to boost your Chinese language skills whether you’re a beginner or advanced learner.

Spring Dawn

Meng Haoran
Spring Dawn is a poem about sleeping in the spring. As the sun rises in the Springtime, Haoran is unmoved by its brilliant rays due to his peaceful slumber. And as night begins to fall so do the blossoming flowers. Spring Dawn is an atmospheric poem, with lots of nature-related vocabulary.

春眠不觉晓

处处闻啼鸟

夜来风雨声

花落知多少

Lù Chài

Wáng Wéi
Wáng Wéi  who was a devote Buddhism practitioner in the 7th century. Wáng Wéi lived in the countryside, but he wasn’t too far from civilization as to be isolated. Lu Chai is a Chinese poem about the thin line between solitude, nature, and humanity. Lu Chai will introduce you to new sentence structures to help you with expressing comparisons in Chinese.

空 山 不 見 人

但 聞 人 語 響

返 景 入 深 林

復 照 青 苔 上

Invitation To Wine

Li Bai
If you’re ever feeling down, Invitation To Wine is a beautiful poem that screams happiness. It reminds you of the briefness of life, and how you should enjoy it while you still have time. You’ll genuinely enjoy the barrels of wine, celebration, and themes of friendship in this classic Chinese poem.

李白-將進酒 君不見黃河之水天上來，

奔流到海不復回？

君不見高堂明鏡悲白髮，朝如青絲暮成雪？

人生得意須盡歡，莫使金樽空對月。

天生我材必有用，千金散盡還復來。

烹羊宰牛且為樂，會須一飲三百杯。

岑夫子，丹丘生，將進酒，君莫停。

與君歌一曲，請君為我傾耳聽。

鐘鼓饌玉不足貴，但願長醉不復醒。

古來聖賢皆寂寞，唯有飲者留其名。

陳王昔時宴平樂，斗酒十千恣讙謔。

主人何為言少錢，徑須沽取對君酌。

五花馬，千金裘， 呼兒將出換美酒，與爾同銷萬古愁。

Thinking on a Quiet Night

Li Bai
Reminisce on quiet nights with the poem “Thinking on a Quiet Night.” In this Chinese poem, you’ll learn a great deal about prepositions and vibrant adjectives. Whether you’re feeling homesick or want to listen to a Chinese poem with lots of cool vibes, you’ll love “Thinking on A Quiet Night.”

床前明月光

疑是地上霜

舉頭望明月

低頭思故鄉

Ascending Stork Tower

Wang Zhihuan
This Chinese poem is an ideal piece of motivational literature. It talks about climbing to higher heights to see a broader perspective, expanding your knowledge and wisdom in the process. You’ll be surprised just how much this simple, yet powerful poem can keep your spirits high when learning Chinese.

白日依山盡，

黃河入海流；

欲窮千里目，

更上一層樓。

Import Chinese Poems into LingQ

If you’re interested in using poetry to study Chinese, then give LingQ a try. 

Simply import your favorite Chinese poems into LingQ to create interactive lessons that allow you to look up new characters and listen to how they are pronounced.

Check out LingQ to discover how to learn Chinese from content you love!

Also, here’s a great resource that contains the audio of various Chinese poetry, which you can also import into LingQ. For more information about importing content into LingQ, check out this post.

Good luck with your studying!