The foe shoot arrows on frontier in autumn day;
The startled grieved wild geese disperse and fly away.
The statue sees their shadows pass beneath the moon bright;
The lonely palace hears their cries in candlelight.
You know the foe would run their horses therefore long.
Could you go back one and all when spring sings its song?
Don't say few live on Southern rivers up and down!
With water plants the Southern shores are overgrown.
Original Poem:
「早雁」
杜牧
金河秋半虏弦开，云外惊飞四散哀。
仙掌月明孤影过，长门灯暗数声来。
须知胡骑纷纷在，岂逐春风一一回。
莫厌潇湘少人处，水多菰米岸莓苔。
Interpretation:
This poem uses the geese flying in all directions as a metaphor for the displaced people, and the poet expresses deep sympathy for their miserable situation of not being able to return to their homes.
The first two lines: In August, the migratory bird soldiers in the border area drew their bows and shot arrows, and the geese were frightened and dispersed.
Imagine the scene of geese being shot and scattered. Jinhe, in today's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Hohhot city south, here refers to the northern border. These two lines vividly show a picture of the activities of the border geese: in mid-autumn, the desert is boundless, and the geese flying in the clouds were suddenly attacked and shot by the Hu riders, and immediately flew in all directions, emitting mournful cries.
The third and fourth sentences: the moonlight night of the lonely geese swept through the Chenglu immortal palm, wailing sound to the darkness of the Palace in front of the long door.
Continuing the scene of the scattered geese flying over the capital Chang'an. The cool moonlight reflects the lonely palm in the palace, the scene has shown a few minutes of coldness in the quiet; in this silent picture and drifted through the misty figure of the lonely geese, it is even more obvious that the realm of the Qingliao and the lonely geese shadow. Through this cold and lonely picture of the lonely geese, you can vaguely feel the bleak atmosphere of the era of decay. The poet purposely made the scattered geese appear in the sky above the palace in Chang'an, which seems to imply a subtle irony. It makes people feel that the emperor who lives in the deep palace is not only powerless but also has no intention to save the displaced people in the border areas.
The fifth and sixth lines: It should be known that the northern part of the country is in full swing, and can no longer return home with the spring breeze.
Poet and by the geese flying south to think of their return to the north, the poet said: now the Hu people's cavalry shooters have also covered the area around the Jin River, when the climate warms up next spring, how can you return to their hometowns with the warm spring winds one by one? The geese are still on their way to the south, but the poet has already thought of their return to the north; is pitying them for their frightening flight apart, but has already thought of their homelessness in the future. This is a concern for the displaced border people.
The last two lines: Please don't mind the sparsely populated area of Xiaoxiang, the water's edge can be protected from hunger and cold by the green moss of Mushroom and Rice.
Xiaoxiang refers to the central and southern part of Hunan province. It is said that geese cannot fly past Hengyang, so it is imagined that they stop at the Xiaoxiang area. The poet is deeply persuading the geese to fly south: don't be tired of the openness and scarcity of people in the Xiaoxiang area, the water there is full of Mushroom Rice and Berry Moss, which can be used as food, so you might as well settle down for a while. The poet's exhortations and instructions in the midst of the hopelessness show a deeper level of affection and consideration for the exiles.
The whole poem does not criticize directly, but the meaning of irony is sure to appear, its style is gentle and delicate, clear and implicit, a unique work in Du Mu's poems.
Poem translator:
Xu Yuan-chong (许渊冲)
About the poet:
Du Mu (杜牧), 803-853 AD, was a native of Xi'an, Shaanxi Province. Among the poets of the Late Tang Dynasty, he was one of those who had his own characteristics, and later people called Li Shangyin and Du Mu as "Little Li and Du". His poems are bright and colorful.
