Though a country be sundered, hills and rivers endure;
And spring comes green again to trees and grasses
Where petals have been shed like tears
And lonely birds have sung their grief.
...After the war-fires of three months,
One message from home is worth a ton of gold.
...I stroke my white hair. It has grown too thin
To hold the hairpins any more.
Original Poem:
「春望」
杜甫
国破山河在，城春草木深。
感时花溅泪，恨别鸟惊心。
烽火连三月，家书抵万金。
白头搔更短，浑欲不胜簪。
Interpretation:
In July, 756 AD, Du Fu settled his family in Qiang Village, Shanshan Prefecture, and went to join Emperor Su Zong. On the way, he was captured by rebels and brought back to Chang'an. Because of his humble official position, he was not imprisoned. In March of the following year, he was trapped in Chang'an, seeing his country broken and his family separated, he was saddened by the time and shed tears, which led to the creation of this poem.
In the first two lines, the capital of the country was invaded but the mountains and rivers remained the same, and the weeds and trees in Chang'an grew luxuriantly and wildly.
At the beginning of the poem, the poet describes what he sees in the springtime: the mountains and rivers are still the same, but the capital of the country has fallen, and the city has been torn apart in the war, with overgrown grass and barren forests. Poet memory in the past Chang'an spring is how prosperous, birds and flowers, flotsam filled, willow bright, tourists meandering, but that kind of scene today has disappeared.
The third and fourth sentences: sentimental affairs of the country, see the flowers can not help but weep, inner despair and resentment, heard the birds chirping, even feel that the call is also very heartbreaking.
Spring flowers were originally delicate and charming, the aroma is fascinating; spring birds should be cheering, singing a pleasant song, giving people pleasure. When a person suffers inwardly and encounters a joyful scene, it triggers more pain instead. The poet is painfully aware of the bitter hatred of the country's destruction, and the more beautiful the scene, the more it will add to the inner pain.
The fifth and sixth lines: the continuous war has lasted for a long time, the letter is rare, a letter is worth tens of thousands of taels of gold.
Poet thought: the war has been continuous for a spring, still no end, it seems that the war does not know how long to last. And also recalled that he was captured in exile, detained in the enemy camp, long time no news of his wife and children, they are not sure of life and death, I do not know how it is. I don't know how they are doing. How nice it would be to get a letter from home.
The last two lines: I'm so worried that I'm scratching my head to think, and my gray hair is getting shorter and shorter, so I can't even put in a hairpin anymore.
Since I left home, I have been running around in the war, and I have been trapped in Chang'an for several months, my hair has become even thinner, and when I scratch it with my hand, I feel that it is so thin and short that I can't even insert a hairpin into it. The poet writes about his own aging from the destruction of the country and the separation of war.
This poem is deeply emotional, reflecting the good wishes of the contemporaries who loved their country and looked forward to peace, and expressing the unanimous inner voice of everyone.
Poem translator:
Kiang Kanghu
About the poet:
Du Fu (杜甫), 712 - 770 AD, was a great poet of the Tang Dynasty, known as the "Sage of Poetry". Born into a declining bureaucratic family, Du Fu had a rough life, and his turbulent and dislocated life made him keenly aware of the plight of the masses. Therefore, his poems were always closely related to the current affairs, reflecting the social life of that era in a more comprehensive way, with profound thoughts and a broad realm. In his poetic art, he was able to combine many styles, forming a unique style of "profound and thick", and becoming a great realist poet in the history of China.
