The shocking last sentence of "Hate to Farewell Bird" is: "I feel the flowers splashing with tears."
Original poem:
The country is broken by mountains and rivers, and the city is full of spring and deep vegetation.
I am moved to tears by the flowers in my heart, and I am frightened by the hatred of other birds.
The war rages on for three months, and a letter from home is worth ten thousand gold.
The white-headed scratches are shorter, and the lust is overwhelming.
Translation:
Chang'an fell, the country was shattered, and only the mountains and rivers remained; spring came, and the sparsely populated Chang'an city was lush with vegetation. Feeling sentimental about state affairs, I can't help but burst into tears, and the chirping of birds frightens my heart, which only adds to the sorrow and hatred of separation. The continuous war has continued until now. Letters from home are rare, and one letter is worth ten thousand taels of gold. Wrapped in sadness, I scratched my head and thought. My white hair became shorter and shorter, and I couldn't even insert the hairpin.
Source: "Spring Hope" by Du Fu in the Tang Dynasty
Poetry Appreciation
This poem was written in March of the second year of Emperor Suzong's reign (757). In June of the previous year, the Anshi rebels invaded Chang'an. "They looted all the private property in three days," and set fire to the city, turning the prosperous and magnificent Kyoto into ruins. In August of the previous year, Du Fu settled his wife in Qiang Village in Yanzhou. She was captured on the way north to Lingwu and escorted to Chang'an after the fall. It had been more than half a year. It was late spring, and I was moved by the scene and felt sad, so I composed this five-rhyme poem that has been recited for generations.
The first two couplets describe the scene of "Spring View", expressing emotions due to the scenery. In the first couplet, "the country is destroyed" and "mountains and rivers" are left empty, and "the city springs" but only "grass and trees" grow. The tragic destruction, the lack of people, and the concern for the country inspired by it are all reflected in the positive and negative contrasts. . The upper and lower sentences of the second couplet make sense to each other. Trapped in a bandit camp, sent home to Yanzhou, he "sheds tears" when he sees the "flowers" blooming, and is "shocked" when he hears the "birds" talking. The happy scenery contrasts with the sadness, and he feels "feelings of the time" and "hate to say goodbye". The complex mentality is clearly visible.
The last two couplets express the feeling of "spring hope", and the feelings contain scenes. The three-part couplet "Beacon Fire" should be "feeling the time", and the "letter from home" should be "hate to leave". The feeling of worrying about the country and homesickness goes back and forth, which is deeply touching. The last couplet uses the action of "scratching the head" to express the sad mood and lingering meaning. endless. It is titled "Spring Hope", and every sentence conveys the spirit of the word "Wang". Looking at the dilapidated and desolate mountains and rivers, looking at the lush vegetation in Chang'an, looking at the flowers and birds that add to the sadness, looking at the endless flames of war, hoping that the letters from home will not come for a long time, and finally ending with scratching one's head and looking at the sky.
Reading the whole poem, the lyrical protagonist's expression of sadness, compassion for the chaos, concern for the country and homesickness, and what he sees in his eyes are as vivid as the present, thus bursting out with huge artistic appeal.