News at this far western station! The north has been recaptured!
At first I cannot check the tears from pouring on my coat --
Where is my wife? Where are my sons?
Yet crazily sure of finding them, I pack my books and poems- -
And loud my song and deep my drink
On the green spring-day that starts me home,
Back from this mountain, past another mountain,
Up from the south, north again-to my own town!
Original Poem:
「闻官军收河南河北」
杜甫
剑外忽传收蓟北， 初闻涕泪满衣裳。
却看妻子愁何在？ 漫卷诗书喜欲狂。
白日放歌须纵酒， 青春作伴好还乡。
即从巴峡穿巫峡， 便下襄阳向洛阳。
Interpretation:
In the spring of 762 A.D., Du Fu was living in Santai, Sichuan Province, and suddenly heard the news that the government army had recovered Henan and Hebei, and that the Anshi Rebellion, which had lasted for seven or eight years, had finally come to an end, and was overjoyed to be able to return to his home, so he waved his pen in a hurry to write.
The first couplet: outside the Jianmen Pass suddenly came the news of the recapture of Jibei, just heard the tears stained with clothes.
The news came suddenly, all of a sudden the news of the victory of the official army to recover Jibei was spread all over the land of Shuzhong, the displacement brought by the war of 78 years was about to end, it was really a mixture of sadness and joy.
The second line: look back at his wife and children which still have a little sadness, haphazardly rolled up the poetry and books happy to be crazy.
Poet mixed feelings of sadness and joy, naturally think of his wife and children with their own war suffering, so look back, they are full of sadness clouds do not know where to go, but a smile, joyful. So, they also have no intention of writing, hand rolled up the poetry, and family members with the same joy and happiness.
The third couplet: the day to sing and drink wine, and return home with his wife and children in the bright spring light.
Poet to his wife's tone, said: we should be in this great day “song”, “wine”, celebrating the victory; we should also be in the mood of old age, rejuvenation of youth, and youthful children together, in the bright springtime, as a companion! Returning home.
The last couplet reads: “I thought of crossing the Wu Gorge from Ba Gorge, passing through Xiangyang and then heading straight to Luoyang.
Speaking of “returning home”, the poet's thoughts have already taken wing and flown, being in Zizhou, while the “heart” has already traveled along the Fuljiang River into the Jialing River through the Ba Gorge, then into the Yangtze River out of the Wu Gorge, and then down the river to Xiangyang, and then turn to Luoyang by land, returning to the hometown.
This poem is one of the rare poems in Du Fu's collection that depicts the feeling of joy. The whole poem is heartfelt and straightforward, without any pretense, and it strongly expresses the poet's mood and strong desire to return to his hometown when he first heard the news of the victory.
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.
