Translation
Du Fu (712-770) | 杜甫 |
On a Night Journey, a Letter from My Heart | 旅夜書懷 |
Fine and soft, by the river’s edge, the grass in trifling wind | 細草 微風岸 |
Precarious at night, my boat of a single mast | 危檣 獨夜舟 |
Stars dangle above the ample plains | 星垂 平野闊 |
As the moon gushes from massive river currents | 月湧 大江流 |
How did I become famous for just my writings?— | 名豈 文章著 |
For I am a government official, but old and ill—and must quit. | 官應 老病休 |
Lightly, lightly floating— what kind of place is this? | 飄飄 何所似 |
Heaven and Earth— a seagull’s grain of sand | 天地 一沙鷗 |
Notes:
1. Background: In 764, Du Fu took the whole family to settle down in Chengdu, to serve in General Yan Wu’s office. Yet, General Yan suddenly deceased in April of the following year. So Du Fu had to take his family to wander again. He wrote this poem on the boat trip.
2. This is one of the classic poems of its kind. The last 2 verses are especially well-known.
Original Chinese
Traditional | Simplified | Pronunciation |
杜甫 | 杜甫 | Dù Fǔ |
旅夜書懷 | 旅夜书怀 | Lǚ yè shū huái |
細草微風岸， | 细草微风岸， | Xì cǎo wéi fēng àn, |
危檣獨夜舟。 | 危樯独夜舟。 | Wēi qiáng dú yè zhōu. |
星垂平野闊， | 星垂平野阔， | Xīng chuí píng yě kuò, |
月湧大江流。 | 月涌大江流。 | Yuè yǒng dà jiāng liú. |
名豈文章著， | 名岂文章著， | Míng qǐ wén zhāng zhù, |
官應老病休。 | 官应老病休。 | Guān yīng lǎo bìng xiū. |
飄飄何所似， | 飘飘何所似， | Piāo piāo hé suǒ shì, |
天地一沙鷗。 | 天地一沙鸥。 | Tiān dì yī shā ōu. |
Literal Notes
杜甫 | Pear-tree Just-now=Du Fu(712-770) |
旅夜書懷 | Trip/journey/travel night/by-night write/book/letter bosom/heart/mind/carry-in-bosom |
細草微風岸， | Thin/slender/delicate/fine grass/straw tiny/trifling wind coast/bank/shore/beach [tiny wind= breeze, light wind] |
危檣獨夜舟。 | Dangerous/precarious boom/mast alone/single/sole/only night/by-night boat/ship |
星垂平野闊， | Star hang-down/dangle/droop/bend-down/suspend flat/level/calm/peaceful field/plain wide/broad/ample |
月湧大江流。 | Moon bubble-up/rush-forth/well-up/gush-forth/rise big/huge/great large-river/Yangzi flow/move/drift |
名豈文章著， | Fame/name/rank/title/position how?/what?(emphatic question) writing/literature/culture chapter/section/composition make-known/famous/to-write [writing chapter= aricle/essay/literay-works/ writings] |
官應老病休。 | Official/government/public-servant should/ought-to/must old/outdated/aged/experienced illness/disease/sickness rest/cease/retire |
飄飄何所似， | Float/whirlwind float/whirlwind what/which actually/that-which seem/appear/resemble/like [Float float=lightly] [what/which actually/that-which=where, what place] |
天地一沙鷗。 | Heaven/sky earth one/a sand/granule/powder seagull/common-gull [Heaven/sky earth=the world, field of activity] |
Year:
2012
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