I am only an old woodsman, whispering a sob,
As I steal like a spring-shadow down the Winding River.
...Since the palaces ashore are sealed by a thousand gates --
Fine willows, new rushes, for whom are you so green?
...I remember a cloud of flags that came from the South Garden,
And ten thousand colours, heightening one another,
And the Kingdom's first Lady, from the Palace of the Bright Sun,
Attendant on the Emperor in his royal chariot,
And the horsemen before them, each with bow and arrows,
And the snowy horses, champing at bits of yellow gold,
And an archer, breast skyward, shooting through the clouds
And felling with one dart a pair of flying birds.
...Where are those perfect eyes, where are those pearly teeth?
A blood-stained spirit has no home, has nowhere to return.
And clear Wei waters running east, through the cleft on Dagger- Tower Trail,
Carry neither there nor here any news of her.
People, compassionate, are wishing with tears
That she were as eternal as the river and the flowers.
...Mounted Tartars, in the yellow twilight, cloud the town with dust.
I am fleeing south, but I linger-gazing northward toward the throne.
Original Poem:
「哀江头」
杜甫
少陵野老吞生哭， 春日潜行曲江曲。
江头宫殿锁千门， 细柳新蒲为谁绿。
忆昔霓旌下南苑， 苑中景物生颜色。
昭阳殿里第一人， 同辇随君侍君侧。
辇前才人带弓箭， 白马嚼啮黄金勒。
翻身向天仰射云， 一箭正坠双飞翼。
明眸皓齿今何在， 血污游魂归不得。
清渭东流剑阁深， 去住彼此无消息。
人生有情泪沾臆， 江水江花岂终极。
黄昏胡骑尘满城， 欲往城南望城北。
Interpretation:
In the fall of 756 A.D., Du Fu left Shanshu to join Emperor Suzong of the Tang Dynasty, who was located in Lingwu, but he was captured by An Lushan’s rebels and brought to Chang’an, which had already fallen. In the spring of 757 A.D., he secretly came to the original palace of Emperor Tang Xuanzong by the Qujiang River, and wrote this poem with grief and indignation.
The poem is divided into three sections. The first paragraph is about the desolate scene of Qujiang River after the fall of Chang’an. It was originally a bustling tourist attraction, but now the palace doors are locked and it is cold and quiet. Who is the green willow and new bushes for? Only shaoling wild old man quietly come here, see things sad.
In the second paragraph, recalling before the Anshi Rebellion, Qujiang spring prosperous scene. At that time, Emperor Tang Xuanzong and his concubines visited Hibiscus Garden, and the colorful flags were fluttering and everything was glowing. Yang Guifei accompanied the car and the female officials, dressed in military uniforms and straddling the horse, shot high in the air and hit the birds flying together. This skillful technique won the Yang Guifei charm “a smile”! This paragraph writes Tang Xuanzong and Yang Guifei tour of indulgence, luxury, for their later tragedy laid the groundwork.
The third paragraph, write Tang Xuanzong and Yang Guifei tragedy and the poet’s feelings. Yang Guifei long stayed on the shore of the Weishui River, Tang Xuanzong went far away to the Jiange, to stay in the east and west, life and death, never heard from. This and the previous “with the emperor’s carriage with the king” love melting contrast, how poignant! Naturally, this is the result of their indulgence! Then, in the face of the vicissitudes of life, the poet was struck with emotion: people are sentient, touching the scenery, tears wet chest; nature is merciless, the river flowers bloom as usual, the river flows as usual, never-ending. Here implies two layers of meaning, one is to write the poet’s inner grief, do not forget the court; one is to write the poet looking north of the king’s division, recovered the capital. Both meanings show the poet’s feelings of loyalty and love for the country.
The whole poem adopts the technique of comparison, contrasting the prosperity of the past with the desolation of today, and the joy of the past with the death of today. In the front of the reality of the ruling group represented by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Xuanzong, he implicitly implies the lingering hatred of the destruction of the country and the profound lesson of the death of the family.
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.
