A light wind is rippling at the grassy shore...
Through the night, to my motionless tall mast,
The stars lean down from open space,
And the moon comes running up the river.
...If only my art might bring me fame
And free my sick old age from office! --
Flitting, flitting, what am I like
But a sand-snipe in the wide, wide world!
Original Poem:
「旅夜书怀」
杜甫
细草微风岸， 危樯独夜舟。
星垂平野阔， 月涌大江流。
名岂文章著， 官应老病休。
飘飘何所似， 天地一沙鸥。
Interpretation:
In 765 A.D., Du Fu resigned from his post as a counselor in the office of the Jiannan governor and as a member of the Ministry of Public Works because of a disagreement with Yan Wu, and returned to the Cao Tang (草堂). In April, Yan Wu fell ill and died. In May, Du Fu left Chengdu with his family and traveled through Jiazhou (Leshan), Rongzhou (Yibin), Yuzhou (Chongqing), and Zhongzhou (Zhongxian), arriving in Yun’an (Yunyang) in September. This poem was written during the boat’s journey through Zhongzhou.
The first line describes the scenery of the river. In the daytime, both sides of the river are filled with fine grass and breezes; at night, the masts of the boats are high, and the lone boat is moored at night.
From the shore and the surface of the river to write the scene. Looking at the sky, the stars are hanging, starry, the wilderness is vast, endless; looking down on the river, the water is flowing, waves rippling, the bright moon seems to be out in the river.
The poet has always had “to the king Yao Shun on, and then make the wind and customs simple” ambitious political aspirations, due to the repression of a long period of time can not be carried out, and the reputation of the competition for the text, which is the poet’s last resort. As an official, he should retire because he is old and sickly. This is the opposite.
Lastly, what does his wandering life look like? It is like a drifting water bird in the world. The scene is a self-referential, to write their own wandering helpless feelings!
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.
