Flowers, as high as my window, hurt the heart of a wanderer
For I see, from this high vantage, sadness everywhere.
The Silken River, bright with spring, floats between earth and heaven
Like a line of cloud by the Jade Peak, between ancient days and now.
...Though the State is established for a while as firm as the North Star
And bandits dare not venture from the western hills,
Yet sorry in the twilight for the woes of a longvanished Emperor,
I am singing the song his Premier sang when still unestranged from the mountain.
Original Poem:
「登楼」
杜甫
花近高楼伤客心， 万方多难此登临。
锦江春色来天地， 玉垒浮云变古今。
北极朝庭终不改， 西山寇盗莫相侵。
可怜后主还祠庙， 日暮聊为梁父吟。
Interpretation:
This is a sad poem. In October, 763 AD, the Tubo captured Chang’an, but Guo Ziyi counterattacked and recovered the capital, and Emperor Daizong was able to return to Chang’an. In December, the Tubo occupied the three states of Song, Wei, and Bao in Xichuan, which Gao Shi could not defend, and was transferred out in the spring of 764 A.D. The Tang dynasty reappointed Yan Wu as the governor of Shuzhong. Dufu was in Langzhou and intended to leave the gorge and return home. When he learned of this news, he thought that the situation had changed and composed this poem.
When the spring flowers are in full bloom, it should be a pleasure to climb to a high building, but the poet was actually sad. Why? The poet writes about the time and state of mind when he climbed the tower in reverse. The poet who is full of sadness “climbed” this building, although ten thousand flowers near the building, spring light, but very hurt the poet’s heart.
Then the poet let go of a stroke, long-distance view, only to see the Jinjiang River spring water rushing to come, Yubi Mountain on the floating clouds suddenly up and down, as the ancient and modern world situation of the changing clouds and winds. This link is explicitly about the scenery, but actually implies the turbulence of the current situation.
Poet to the North Star to the metaphor of the Tang dynasty defeated the Tubo, recovered Chang’an, the Emperor returned to the capital, “the end does not change” that the Tang dynasty’s fortunes far away, and at the same time to warn the infestation of the Tubo Western Sichuan, no longer futile “invasion”!
The last line of the poet in the upper floor looking at the ancestral shrine of the Lord triggered feelings. Like after the Lord Liu Chan so reuse eunuchs that became a dead king is still worshipped, alluding to the Tang dynasty, although not dead, but reuse eunuchs fish Chaonen, Cheng Yuanzhen, can be revitalized the Tang dynasty, it is really worrying. In this sunset, sunset, in the middle of the pale, the poet empty will to help the world, but no door to serve the country, poor and sad.
The whole poem is a poem of feelings and emotions, combining scenery, lyricism and discussion, showing the poet’s hope for a momentary victory and his concern for the future of a serious political crisis. The language is strong and broad, and the moral is far-reaching, with a deep sense of staccato and melancholy.
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.
