In a sharp gale from the wide sky apes are whimpering,
Birds are flying homeward over the clear lake and white sand,
Leaves are dropping down like the spray of a waterfall,
While I watch the long river always rolling on.
I have come three thousand miles away. Sad now with autumn
And with my hundred years of woe, I climb this height alone.
Ill fortune has laid a bitter frost on my temples,
Heart-ache and weariness are a thick dust in my wine.
Original Poem:
「登高」
杜甫
风急天高猿啸哀， 渚清沙白鸟飞回。
无边落木萧萧下， 不尽长江滚滚来。
万里悲秋常作客， 百年多病独登台。
艰难苦恨繁霜鬓， 潦倒新停浊酒杯。
Interpretation:
This poem was written in the fall of 767 A.D., when the poet was writing about his inner thoughts while climbing the heights on the Chongyang Festival in Fengjie, Chongqing.
In just a few words, the unique late-autumn scenery of the Kui Zhou region as seen from afar is depicted. The words “windy” reproduce the windy situation of the high mountains and steep gorges in the Three Gorges area, and “sky high” represents the high and refreshing autumn weather. Then, the poet’s sight turns to the water of the Yangtze River from a high place, only to see groups of waterfowl flying against the wind and circling back and forth. This is not only an exquisite autumn scene, but also reveals a trace of sadness and sorrow.
The poet looks at the mountains from afar, the boundless trees, the fallen leaves fluttering, Xiao Xiao fall, a scene of killing; look down at the Yangtze River, flowing, rolling.
Poet by the Xiaoxiao fell wood associated with their own, how many years of wandering, and now more than half a hundred, has reached the twilight of the body sick, and alone to climb the heights, this is how lonely situation. Really old, sick, stray, lonely, set in one, “sad autumn” feeling came.
Finally, the poet looks back on his life, hardship and bitterness, scribbling taste, the national tragedy, not away from his own pocket, and thus more gray hair, coupled with alcohol withdrawal due to illness, sadness is more difficult to dispel. The poet’s feelings of sorrow for the country and sadness are revealed.
In this poem, the poet took the occasion of ascending the heights on the occasion of the Chung Yeung Festival to gather all the hardships and sorrows of thinking of the country, thinking of home, thinking of friends and seeking food during the period of Kui Zhou, which is a staccato and somber and sad poem.
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.
