My Neighbor South
- Poetry of Du Fu
A scholar wearing black hood in our southern town,
He’s not reduced to poverty with nuts and taros grown.
Used to seeing guests, his children are happy and gay;
Tamed by frequent feeding, birds hop on steps in play.
In autumn water only four or five feet deep,
Two or three men on a boat along the stream float.
By white sand and green bamboos when night is late and steep,
Before his wicket gate we gaze at the moon new and great.
This work was composed in the autumn of 760 CE, the first year of the Shangyuan era under Emperor Suzong, while Du Fu was living in his thatched cottage by the Huanhua Stream in Chengdu. After a long period of displacement, the poet had finally obtained a settled dwelling here and had developed a warm, friendly rapport with the simple, honest villagers nearby. The title "Southern Neighbor" refers specifically to a hermit living south of the cottage, known as "Master of Brocade Hamlet." This poem resembles a fresh, elegantly simple line-drawing, recording an ordinary visit to a friend in a riverside village. It reveals a precious, idyllic human haven within a war-torn age and the pure yet profound friendship between two kindred spirits.
锦里先生乌角巾，园收芋栗未全贫。
惯看宾客儿童喜，得食阶除鸟雀驯。
秋水才深四五尺，野航恰受两三人。
白沙翠竹江村暮，相对柴门月色新。
- 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