Little Primer of Du Fu, Poems 6-10

[x_los]

This is week 2/7 on David Hawkes' Little Primer of Du Fu. I'll replicate the poems themselves here, but this book contains considerable exegesis, so I do advise you to grab this copy.

This week we're reading poems 6 through 10, inclusive.

How to Read Chinese Poetry in Context's Chapter 15, "Du Fu: The Poet as Historian", is relevant to Hawkes' focus. (Next week's Additional Readings are more focused on poetics.)

Comments

Re: 6. 春望 Chūn wàng

[llonkrebboj]

oooooooo! i've worked on this before :D

国破山河在
guó pò shānhé zài
The country is war torn, but its mountains and rivers remain;
城春草木深
chéng chūn cǎomù shēn
it is spring, yet the city’s grass and trees grow untamed.
感时花溅泪
gǎn shí huā jiàn lèi
Grief at the times spills over as tears at the sight of new blossoms,
恨别鸟惊心
hèn bié niǎo jīng xīn
loathe to part, now the sound of birdsong only troubles my heart.
烽火连三月
fēnghuǒ lián sān yuè
When the flames of war have blazed for three months
家书抵万金
jiāshū dǐ wàn jīn
a letter from home is worth more than ten thousand in gold.
白头搔更短
báitóu sāo gèng duǎn
I tug and pull at white hair that has grown so sparse
浑欲不胜簪
hún yù bù shèng zān
that there’s hardly enough left for a hair-pin.