I had always heard of Lake Dongting --
And now at last I have climbed to this tower.
With Wu country to the east of me and Chu to the south,
I can see heaven and earth endlessly floating.
...But no word has reached me from kin or friends.
I am old and sick and alone with my boat.
North of this wall there are wars and mountains --
And here by the rail how can I help crying?
Original Poem:
「登岳阳楼」
杜甫
昔闻洞庭水， 今上岳阳楼。
吴楚东南坼， 乾坤日夜浮。
亲朋无一字， 老病有孤舟。
戎马关山北， 凭轩涕泗流。
Interpretation:
In 769 A.D., Du Fu moored his boat under Yueyang City, climbed the tower and looked into the distance, thus writing this poem.
In the twilight of his life, he was able to climb the Yueyang Tower to enjoy the beautiful scenery of Dongting Lake, the famous sights that he had heard of earlier, and now he has seen it, and his heart is particularly happy. From the heart of joy to view the Dongting Lake, really vast and boundless, split Wu, Chu two places, through the sun, moon and stars, magnificent.
A turn of the pen, back to reality, thinking of their own since the Chengdu to Hunan, long floating boat on the river, isolated from friends and relatives, no news, plus the year has been fifty-seven years old, old and sick, alone and drifting. Here, their own loneliness and the above couplet of the lake form a stark contrast to the majestic, more and more show their own sadness.
Finally write the poet’s broad-mindedness. Poet with Xuan old tears, not only is the feeling of their own miserable life, but more importantly, look far away, think of the northern border, the war has not yet leveled off, the country’s hardships, when in the heart, which is the root of the poet’s grief.
This poem uses music to write sad techniques, simple and natural language, profound and far-reaching mood, the feelings of twisted and sincere, the sadness of the drift and loneliness, the feeling of war and chaos away from the non-stop, a song, three sighs, two people break their hearts.
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.
