The original text and translation of Du Fu in Jiangcun are as follows:
Original text:
The Qingjiang River embraces the village, and everything in the Changxia River Village is quiet.
The swallows on the beams come and go, and the gulls in the water are close to each other.
The old wife draws paper to make a chess game, while the young child knocks needles to make fishing hooks.
But if there are old friends offering Lumi, what else can a tiny body ask for?
Translation:
The clear river flows around the village in twists and turns. During the long summer, everything in the village looks elegant.
The swallows on the beams flew freely, and the gulls in the water chased and played with each other and made love.
The wife drew a chessboard on the paper, and the child knocked on the needle to make a fishhook.
I am old, and all my sick body needs is medicine to treat illnesses. Apart from that, what other extravagances do I have?
Writing background:
It is early summer, on the banks of Huanhua Creek, with twists and turns, water and trees, and a quiet and elegant pastoral scene. The poet picked up the title of the poem "Jiangcun" and wrote about it. It is conceivable that he felt happy.
This poem was written in the first year of Shangyuan (760) by Emperor Suzong of Tang Dynasty. A few months ago, after four years of exile, the poet traveled from Tongzhou via Mianzhou to the banks of Huanhua Creek on the outskirts of Chengdu, a prosperous hometown in the southwest that had not been harassed by war and had remained quiet for the time being. The thatched cottage that he worked hard to run with the help of relatives and friends has begun to take shape; the poet, who has experienced the pain of leaving his hometown and the hardships of displacement, finally found a temporary place to live.