My cot’s secluded where the limpid river winds;
My wicket gate is near the ancient roadway.
The town’s screened by overgrown grass of all kinds;
In lonely place I am slack in my array.
The branches of each elm look frail and slight;
Each loquat tree’s in fragrant flower.
Cormorants stand in western sunset bright,
Drying wings on weir from hour to hour.
田舍清江曲，柴门古道旁。
草深迷市井，地僻懒衣裳。
榉柳枝枝弱，枇杷树树香。
鸬鹚西日照，晒翅满鱼梁。
This poem was composed in 761 CE, the second year of the Shangyuan era under Emperor Suzong. Having endured years of displacement during the An Lushan Rebellion, Du Fu had finally found a temporary haven at his thatched cottage by the Huanhua Stream in Chengdu. Facing a shattered nation and a difficult livelihood, the scenery of this riverside village became a sanctuary where he could heal his wounds and settle his body and spirit. The poem depicts not only the landscape surrounding his cottage but also the poet’s nearly reverent gaze upon and record of ordinary life in the aftermath of catastrophe.
Classical Chinese poetry thrives on Concision and Ambiguity. Without tense or number, the words create a timeless space where the reader becomes the co-creator of the poem's meaning.
Look for Contrasts: light and shadow, movement and stillness. Don't just translate the words; feel the Yijing (artistic conception) that lingers long after the last character.
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