North of me, south of me, spring is in flood,
Day after day I have seen only gulls....
My path is full of petals -- I have swept it for no others.
My thatch gate has been closed -- but opens now for you.
It's a long way to the market, I can offer you little --
Yet here in my cottage there is old wine for our cups.
Shall we summon my elderly neighbour to join us,
Call him through the fence, and pour the jar dry?
Original Poem:
「客至」
杜甫
舍南舍北皆春水， 但见群鸥日日来。
花径不曾缘客扫， 蓬门今始为君开。
盘飧市远无兼味， 樽酒家贫只旧醅。
肯与邻翁相对饮， 隔篱呼取尽余杯。
Interpretation:
This poem was written in the spring of 761 AD. When the poet first arrived in Chengdu, there were no relatives or friends around the Cao Tang, the flower paths were not swept, the door was always closed, and the old man was often with the field father, and now there is a friend visiting, the poet is naturally very happy.
The first line of the scene around the Cao Tang and the time and place of the guest’s visit. Around the hall, the spring water ripples, gulls fly, the environment leisure scenery. The guest is in this bright spring day, to the grass to visit the poet.
Poet to talk with the guest of the tone of confession: courtyard courtyard full of flowers and grasses in the path has not been cleaned because of the guest, the implication is that in the past, few people to come, they are not easy to welcome the guest. Today, the door of the house, which has always been closed, is specially opened for “Jun” (Cui Mingfu) to welcome your arrival. It shows the poet’s respect and deep affection for his guest.
The poet still said to the guest in a self-effacing and apologetic tone while persuading him to drink: “The Cao Tang is far away from the market, so it’s inconvenient to buy things, and the dishes on the plate are simple and few in number; because of the family’s poverty, I can’t afford to buy any good wine, so I can only use the home-brewed old wine to entertain you!” The words of Dufu’s family, the true feelings of the people, not only show the embarrassment of Dufu’s life, but also show the close and sincere friendship between the host and the guest.
In the end, the writing style turns steeply, in order to ask the guests for their opinions, if they are willing to drink with their neighbors, immediately ask them to come over to drink with you. In the text is the peaks and valleys, in the context of a unique. The poet lived in the Cao Tang often with farmers, friendship.
The beauty of this poem lies in the poet’s outlook on the door, commonplace conversation, friendship, and neighborly feelings are blended together to weave a picture of “Spring Wine Banquet” which is quite rich in the interest of farmers and is extremely rich in the beauty of human nature and the taste of human 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.
