Home › Poems › Strolling by the River V
Jiāng Pàn Dú Bù Xún Huā Qí WǔStrolling by the River V 江畔独步寻花 其五
Du Fu looks at peach blossom by the river: is deep red or pale red lovelier?
Original Chinese text with pinyin
黄师塔前江水东
huáng shī tǎ qián jiāng shuǐ dōng
春光懒困倚微风
chūn guāng lǎn kùn yǐ wēi fēng
桃花一簇开无主
táo huā yī cù kāi wú zhǔ
可爱深红爱浅红
kě ài shēn hóng ài qiǎn hóng
Simplified characters; traditional title: 江畔獨步尋花 其五.
English translation
Before Huangshi Pagoda the river flows east;
spring light, lazy and drowsy, leans on the breeze.
A cluster of peach blossom blooms with no owner —
shall I love the deep red, or the pale red?
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
Du Fu looks at peach blossom by the river: is deep red or pale red lovelier? The scene stays with you.
Background
Du Fu looks at peach blossom by the river: is deep red or pale red lovelier?
Key words
- 懒困 lǎn kùn
- lazy and drowsy
- 桃花一簇 táo huā yī cù
- a cluster of peach blossoms
About the poet: Du Fu
Du Fu (also romanized Tu Fu) lived through the An Lushan Rebellion, which tore apart the Tang empire and his own family life. His precise, compassionate poems record war, poverty and loyalty, earning him the titles "Sage of Poetry" and "poet-historian."
Lifetime: 712–770. Other famous works: Happy Rain on a Spring Night (春夜喜雨); The Prime Minister of Shu (蜀相); The Officer at Shihao Village (石壕吏); Thoughts While Traveling at Night (旅夜书怀); Qujiang (曲江); Meeting Li Guinian in Jiangnan (江南逢李龟年); Ballad of the Army Carts (兵车行); Moonlit Night (月夜); Spring View (春望); Climbing High (登高); Quatrain: Two Orioles (绝句·两个黄鹂鸣翠柳); On Yueyang Tower (登岳阳楼); My Thatched Hut Torn by the Autumn Wind (茅屋为秋风所破歌); Gazing at Mount Tai (望岳); A Guest Arrives (客至); Strolling by the River V (江畔独步寻花 其五); Strolling Alone by the River in Search of Flowers (江畔独步寻花); River Village (江村); Winter Solstice Eve (小至); Thinking of Li Bai on a Spring Day (春日忆李白); Easing the Heart by the Water Rail (水槛遣心); Quatrain (绝句); Casual Quatrain (绝句漫兴); For General Hua (赠花卿).
More by Du Fu
- Spring View春望
- Quatrain (The River Blue)绝句
- Climbing High登高
- On Yueyang Tower登岳阳楼
- Moonlit Night月夜
- Happy Rain on a Spring Night春夜喜雨
- Meeting Li Guinian in Jiangnan江南逢李龟年
- Qujiang曲江