The Sick Horse
- Poetry of Du Fu
I've ridden you for long, my horse,
On the cold frontier deep in snow.
In dust you've grown old and weak,
Sick at the year's end, it grieves me so.
Are you different from other steeds?
You're gentle and good even now.
Though humble, your love is deep;
I'm moved and sigh with furrowed brow.
This poem was composed during Du Fu's later years of wandering in southwestern China, likely between 760-768 CE while he resided in Chengdu and Kuizhou. By this time, the poet had endured the turmoil of war, displacement, poverty, and illness. His own circumstances formed a profound parallel with the fate of an aging, ailing horse. Du Fu wrote many poems about horses, often using steeds as symbols of heroic aspiration, but this poem, "The Sick Horse," strikes a unique path by turning his gaze toward an ordinary, weakened, yet steadfast laborer. It is no longer a symbol of heroic ambition but a profound elegy for all those lives that have toiled silently under the weight of fate, only to be forgotten in the end. It represents a radiant flash of Du Fu's compassionate heart focusing on the minute and the marginalized.
乘尔亦已久，天寒关塞深。
尘中老尽力，岁晚病伤心。
毛骨岂殊众？驯良犹至今。
物微意不浅，感动一沉吟。
- 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.