See the clear river wind by the village and flow!
We pass the long summer by riverside with ease.
The swallows freely come in and freely out go.
The gulls on water snuggle each other as they please.
My wife draws lines on paper to make a chessboard;
My son bends a needle into a fishing hook.
Ill, I need only medicine I can afford.
What else do I want for myself in my humble nook?
Original Poem:
「江村」
杜甫
清江一曲抱村流，长夏江村事事幽。
自去自来堂上燕，相亲相近水中鸥。
老妻画纸为棋局，稚子敲针作钓钩。
但有故人供禄米，微躯此外更何求？
Interpretation:
Dufu finally obtained a temporary shelter of peace and quiet after a lot of upheaval and displacement. In a tranquil atmosphere, this poem delicately describes the beautiful and tranquil scenery and casually recounts the leisurely and cozy life, showing the author Du Fu's satisfaction and gladness brought by a rare period of stable life.
The first two lines: The clear water of Raccoon Flower Stream flows around the village in a curved way, and in the long summer days, everything is quiet and peaceful.
In the village in early summer, a winding river flows quietly around the village, the water color is clear, there are fish playing in the water, coming and going noiselessly, everything in the whole village is so quiet. A clear river brings peace and quiet to the village, and this “clear river” is the Raccoon River in Chengdu.
The third and fourth lines: The swallows on the beam fly around freely, and the white gulls in the water are close to each other, accompanying each other.
See, the new Cao Tang has just been completed, there are naughty little swallows fly over and over lightly, no one to pay attention to them, but they are free to play so happy, really like lively children. The poet stroked his beard and laughed, walked to the river, there are two white gulls on the river in the gentle floating, they are either in front or behind, sometimes cross-necked and chirping, sometimes chasing the surface of the water in circles - they must be a pair of loving couple.
The fifth and sixth lines: The wife, who has been together for many years, draws a chessboard on a piece of paper, and the young son knocks and bends a steel needle to be made into a fishhook.
The poet walked slowly towards his home in a pleasant mood, and saw his old partner sitting in front of the door under the shade of a tree, drawing something on paper, and when he came closer to look at it, it turned out to be a chess game. The sound of “ding ding”, the youngest son is buried in the head seriously knocking a needle, this playful child, he is to make his own fish hooks, so that to go to the river to play fishing. Such a scene is probably common in the village, but for Du Fu, who experienced the An Shi Rebellion, suffered many setbacks, and had a turbulent half-life, it was a rare and precious blessing that warmed his heart.
The last two lines: As long as an old friend gives some money and rice, what else can I ask for but this?
The poet exclaims from the scene of peace and tranquility in front of him, “What more can I, an ordinary and lowly man, ask for when an old friend gives me food and his salary? These two lines seem to be words of happiness and fulfillment, but when read carefully, they actually contain a lot of sorrow and bitterness.
Dufu's ability to live in Chengdu's Cao Tang Hall depended on the help of his friends, and although he had such happiness and peace in front of him, it was based on his dependence on others. The great poet, honored as the “Sage of Poetry”, had to rely on the gifts of others in order to live, and had to say that he had “nothing more to ask for”, i.e., he had nothing else to ask for. The calmer and more relaxed this language is, the more it makes the reader's heart ache and shed tears for him. His ambition is very great, but after dozens of years, he is now in his old age, and all he asks for is just one vegetable and one meal.
The whole poem is well-structured, with fluent language, quite interesting in life. The end of the poem inevitably reveals the feelings of loneliness and unhappiness, which makes people feel frustrated and disappointed.
Poem translator:
Xu Yuan-chong (许渊冲)
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.
