Staying at the General's Headquarters
- Poetry of Du Fu
The autumn night is clear and cold in the lakka-trees of this courtyard.
I am lying forlorn in the river-town. I watch my guttering candle.
I hear the lonely notes of a bugle sounding through the dark.
The moon is in mid-heaven, but there's no one to share it with me.
My messengers are scattered by whirls of rain and sand.
City-gates are closed to a traveller; mountains are walls in my way --
Yet, I who have borne ten years of pitiable existence,
Find here a perch, a little branch, and am safe for this one night.
Seven-character-regular-verse
This poem was composed in the second year of the Guangde era of Emperor Daizong of the Tang Dynasty (764 AD). At the time, Du Fu served as an advisor in Yan Wu's military headquarters, but due to internal suspicion and exclusion, as well as his complicated feelings toward Yan Wu, Du Fu felt oppressed and embarrassed. Although he had secured an official position with Yan Wu's help, he remained unable to escape his difficult circumstances and inner loneliness. The poem reveals his dissatisfaction with his current situation and his sense of helplessness about the future, showcasing his loneliness amidst adversity.
清秋幕府井梧寒，独宿江城蜡炬残。
永夜角声悲自语，中天月色好谁看？
风尘荏苒音书绝，关塞萧条行路难。
已忍伶俜十年事，强移栖息一枝安。
- 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.
- Sobering from Drunkenness in Spring Day
- Lodging with the Master of the Clear Stream
- An Impromptu Verse After Being Drunk on Tongguan Mountain
- Song of a Southern Maiden: Winter
- Staying Overnight with a Friend
- The Sick Horse
- A Painted Hawk
- A Quatrain I
- A Quatrain II
- Leaving Home Again