There are sobs when death is the cause of parting;
But life has its partings again and again.
…From the poisonous damps of the southern river
You had sent me not one sign from your exile --
Till you came to me last night in a dream,
Because I am always thinking of you.
I wondered if it were really you,
Venturing so long a journey.
You came to me through the green of a forest,
You disappeared by a shadowy fortress…
Yet out of the midmost mesh of your snare,
How could you lift your wings and use them?
…I woke, and the low moon's glimmer on a rafter
Seemed to be your face, still floating in the air.
…There were waters to cross, they were wild and tossing;
If you fell, there were dragons and rivermonsters.
Original Poem:
「梦李白二首 · 其一」
杜甫
死别已吞声， 生别常恻恻。
江南瘴疠地， 逐客无消息。
故人入我梦， 明我长相忆。
君今在罗网， 何以有羽翼。
恐非平生魂， 路远不可测。
魂来枫林青， 魂返关塞黑。
落月满屋梁， 犹疑照颜色。
水深波浪阔， 无使蛟龙得。
Interpretation:
In 756 AD, Li Bai was arrested and imprisoned. After being released on bail, he was exiled to Tongzi, Guizhou in the spring of 758 AD. Dufu was living in Qinzhou and knew that Li Bai was in exile, so he remembered his bitter memories at the end of the world and thought about it, expressing his deep concern for his friend’s miserable fate and thoroughly criticizing the evil forces that had persecuted Li Bai.
In the beginning of the poem, the long thought keeps on thinking, especially the friend suffered a great misfortune in life, was “expelled from the guest” “Jiangnan miasma and plague”, and no news for a long time, the bitterness of longing is increasing day by day. Then, I wrote a dream about Li Bai. Could it be that you are really dead, you are not the soul of the living! Alas, it is really a long way to go! First write the joy of meeting, turn to doubt, doubt born of deep concern and fear, realistically show the poet’s dream psychology, at the same time reflecting the infinite thoughts of Li Bai!
Then write the poet’s dream of Li Bai’s concern: you have to cross the southern green thousands of miles of maple forests when you come, and when you return to cross the dark and heavy miles of customs, it is really hard to get a piece of your deep love ah! Write the poet in a dream trance: you are in exile, how do you have the “wings” to come to my side? The moon is full, the poet woke up, still feel Li Bai haggard face still. The poet’s admonition and wish to Li Bai: the Yangtze River is deep and broad, with many scaly dragons in it, I hope Li Bai’s soul can return safely and not be seized by the scaly dragons.
This poem firstly narrates the exile of Li Bai before the dream; secondly narrates the meeting in the dream, suddenly suspecting that it is, suddenly suspecting that it is not, with deep feelings, to the most affectionate, touching and deep.
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.
