Du Fu's climbing poem is: The wind is strong and the sky is high, the apes are screaming in mourning, and the white birds are flying back from the clear sand in Zhugistan. The endless falling trees rustle, and the endless Yangtze River rolls by. Wanli is always a guest in the sad autumn, but he has been sick for a hundred years and only appears on the stage. Difficulty and bitterness hate the frost on the temples, and the new wine glass becomes muddy.
Vernacular translation:
The sky is high, the wind is blowing, the ape's voice is sad and sad, and the gulls are playing and circling in the clear water.
Endless leaves are falling one after another, and the Yangtze River is rolling and rushing.
Sadly sighing at the autumn scenery, I am wandering outside. In my old age and sick, I climb the high platform alone.
I deeply regret that my hair on the temples is getting grayer by the day, and I feel sad after I stopped drinking after falling ill.
Notes:
1. Climbing: The 9th day of the ninth lunar month is the Double Ninth Festival, and there has always been a custom of climbing.
2. Ape howl: refers to the shrill cry of the apes in the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River. "Shui Jing Zhu·Jiang Shui" quotes a folk song: "The Badong Three Gorges Wu Gorge is long, and the apes cry three times and shed tears on their clothes."
3. Zhu: a small island in the water; a small piece of land in the water. Birds flying back: Birds flying and circling in the strong wind. Back: roundabout.
4. Fallen wood: refers to the leaves falling in autumn. Xiao Xiao: The sound of fallen leaves blown by the wind.
5. Wanli: refers to being far away from home. Frequent guest: Wandering in a foreign country for a long time.
6. A hundred years: It still refers to a lifetime, here it refers to the old age.
7. Difficulty: refers to both the national destiny and one's own destiny. Bitter hatred: Extreme hatred, extreme regret. Bitter, extremely. Frosty temples: Increased white hair, like frost and snow on the temples. Fan, used as a verb here, means to increase.
8. Down and out: decadent, frustrated. This refers to aging, sickness, and lack of ambition. New Stop: Recently stopped. Climbing high on the Double Ninth Festival is a good time to drink alcohol. Du Fu gave up drinking due to lung disease in his later years, so he said "new stop".
About the author:
Du Fu (AD 712 to AD 770), also known as Zimei, also called himself Shaoling Ye Lao. Han nationality, native of Xiangyang, Gong County, Henan Province (now Gongyi, Henan Province). A great realist poet in the Tang Dynasty, he and Li Bai were collectively known as "Li Du". In order to distinguish them from the other two poets Li Shangyin and Du Mu, known as "Little Li Du", Du Fu and Li Bai are also collectively known as "Big Li Du", and Du Fu is often called "Old Du".
Du Fu had a profound influence on Chinese classical poetry. He was called the "Sage of Poetry" by later generations, and his poems were called the "History of Poetry". Later generations called him Du Shiyi and Du Gongbu, and also called him Du Shaoling and Du Caotang. Du Fu created such masterpieces as "Spring Look", "Northern Expedition", "Three Officials" and "Three Farewells". In 759, Du Fu abandoned his official position and went to Sichuan. Although he escaped the war and lived a relatively stable life, he still cared about the common people and national affairs.
Although Du Fu is a realist poet, he also has a wild and unruly side. It is not difficult to see Du Fu's heroic spirit from his famous work "Song of the Eight Immortals in Drinking". The core of Du Fu's thoughts is the Confucian thought of benevolent government. He has the grand ambition of "bringing the emperors Yao and Shun to the throne, and then making the customs pure." Although Du Fu was not well-known during his lifetime, he later became famous and had a profound impact on both Chinese and Japanese literature. About 1,500 poems by Du Fu have been preserved, most of which are collected in "Du Gongbu Collection".