Home › Poems › For Han Chuo in Yangzhou
Jì Yáng Zhōu Hán Chuò Pàn GuānFor Han Chuo in Yangzhou 寄扬州韩绰判官
Du Mu writes to a friend about moonlit nights at Yangzhou's Twenty-four Bridges.
Original Chinese text with pinyin
青山隐隐水迢迢
qīng shān yǐn yǐn shuǐ tiáo tiáo
秋尽江南草未凋
qiū jǐn jiāng nán cǎo wèi diāo
二十四桥明月夜
èr shí sì qiáo míng yuè yè
玉人何处教吹箫
yù rén hé chù jiào chuī xiāo
Simplified characters; traditional title: 寄揚州韓綽判官.
English translation
Blue hills faint, faint, waters far, far away;
autumn ends in the south, but the grass has not withered.
On a moonlit night at the Twenty-Four Bridges,
where is the jade-like one teaching the flute?
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
Du Mu writes to a friend about moonlit nights at Yangzhou's Twenty-four Bridges. The scene stays with you.
Background
Du Mu writes to a friend about moonlit nights at Yangzhou's Twenty-four Bridges.
Key words
- 迢迢 tiáo tiáo
- far, far away; distant
- 吹箫 chuī xiāo
- playing the flute
About the poet: Du Mu
Du Mu, grandson of a chief minister, was an official and a stylish writer of quatrains. With Li Shangyin he is known as one of the "Little Li and Du" of the late Tang, prized for vivid scenes tinged with history and melancholy.
Lifetime: 803–852. Other famous works: Written at the Wujiang Pavilion (题乌江亭); Passing Huaqing Palace (过华清宫); Qingming (清明); Spring in Jiangnan (江南春); Mooring on the Qinhuai River (泊秦淮); Mountain Walk (山行); Autumn View in Chang'an (长安秋望); For Han Chuo in Yangzhou (寄扬州韩绰判官); The Pond Behind Qi'an (齐安郡后池绝句); Autumn Evening (秋夕).
More by Du Mu
- Mountain Walk山行
- Qingming清明
- Spring in Jiangnan江南春
- Mooring on the Qinhuai River泊秦淮
- Written at the Wujiang Pavilion题乌江亭
- Passing Huaqing Palace过华清宫
- Autumn View in Chang'an长安秋望
- The Pond Behind Qi'an齐安郡后池绝句