By Waterside I
- Poetry of Du Fu
Beside the city gate my pavilion stands;
It commands a distant view o'er lonely lands.
The river's brimming water kisses the shores green;
The shady trees are late and laden with flowers seen.
The rain invites fish to bob out of the stream;
The breeze coaxes swallows to slant o'er it to skim.
The town is packed with hundred thousand houses fine;
Here only two or three are seen to shade the shrine.
This work was composed in the spring of 761 CE, the second year of the Shangyuan era under Emperor Suzong, while Du Fu was living in his thatched cottage by the Huanhua Stream in Chengdu. Having endured prolonged warfare and displacement, the poet had finally secured a period of relative stability. He repaired the cottage, built a waterside railing, and, though his life remained simple, enjoyed a temporary peace. This poem is a direct lyrical response to the tranquil scenery surrounding his cottage, born from this state of mind. It reveals a brighter, more serene, and lucid facet of Du Fu's poetry—a cherished pastoral idyll within the larger narrative of his hardship-filled life.
去郭轩楹敞，无村眺望赊。澄江平少岸，幽树晚多花。
细雨鱼儿出，微风燕子斜。城中十万户，此地两三家。
- Why Chinese poems is so special?
- The most distinctive features of Chinese poetry are: concision- many poems are only four lines, and few are much longer than eight; ambiguity- number, tense and parts of speech are often undetermined, creating particularly rich interpretative possibilities; and structure- most poems follow quite strict formal patterns which have beauty in themselves as well as highlighting meaningful contrasts.
- How to read a Chinese poem?
- Like an English poem, but more so. Everything is there for a reason, so try to find that reason. Think about all the possible connotations, and be aware of the different possibilities of number and tense. Look for contrasts: within lines, between the lines of each couplet and between successive couplets. Above all, don't worry about what the poet meant- find your meaning.
- Eastern Hamlet, Northern Slope
- My Neighbor South
- By Waterside I
- Waves Sifting Sand I
- Lament for Spring II
- At Chan-zhì Temple, Yangzhou