Jué JùQuatrain 绝句
Du Fu on spring: "long days, lovely hills and rivers; spring wind, scented flowers".
Original Chinese text with pinyin
迟日江山丽
chí rì jiāng shān lì
春风花草香
chūn fēng huā cǎo xiāng
泥融飞燕子
ní róng fēi yàn zi
沙暖睡鸳鸯
shā nuǎn shuì yuān yāng
Simplified characters; traditional title: 絕句.
English translation
In the late spring sun, river and hills are lovely;
the spring wind carries the scent of flowers and grass.
The mud is soft; swallows fly;
the sand is warm; mandarin ducks sleep.
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
Du Fu on spring: "long days, lovely hills and rivers; spring wind, scented flowers". The scene stays with you.
Background
Du Fu on spring: "long days, lovely hills and rivers; spring wind, scented flowers".
Key words
- 花草香 huā cǎo xiāng
- the scent of flowers and herbs
- 迟日 chí rì
- a lingering spring day; slow sun
- 江山 jiāng shān
- rivers and mountains — the realm
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