The poem “Cold Sparrow” by the Southern Song Dynasty poet Yang Wanli is exactly the imagery of a cold sparrow in a window. On a winter afternoon, just after snowfall, the sky was shining brightly. I pushed open the study window and looked out. Countless sparrows flew into the open yard, and a few sparrows on the plum shoots seemed to be discussing the matter of snow stopping. After a while, there was a commotion outside the window, which made people feel restless and uneasy. I don’t know what startled them, but suddenly the courtyard fell silent again. From silence to noise, suddenly returning to silence, leaving residual sounds in the sound, highlighting a deeper layer of stillness.
南宋诗人杨万里的《寒雀》正是一窗寒雀的意境。冬日的午后，刚刚下过雪，天露出了光亮，推开书房窗户望去。有数不清的麻雀飞到空旷的院子里来，在梅梢上有几只麻雀好像在议论雪停的事。不一会儿，窗外开始聒噪起来，让人心烦意乱。又不知道是什么惊到了它们，突然间，院子又恢复了寂静。由寂静到喧嚣，突然又回归到寂静，从声响上留下余音，衬托出更深一层的静。
杨万里·《麻雀》
百千寒雀下空庭，小集梅梢话晚晴。
特地作团喧杀我，忽然惊散寂无声。
sparrows in winter
–yang wanli
hundreds of sparrows
crowd the empty courtyard in winter
they puff in their feathers
high on the plum branches
they are saying what a fine evening this is
what a noise they make to disturb me
suddenly they disappear in a startled flock
and the world is as still as death
（王守义、约翰·诺弗尔 译）
Cold Sparrows
Yang Wan-li
Hundreds of cold sparrows dive into the empty courtyard,
cluster on plum branches and speak of sun after rain at dusk.
They choose to gather en masse and kill me with noise.
Suddenly startled, they disperse. Then, soundlessness.
（Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping 译）
