Selected Poems of Du Fu Remembering the Brother-in-law on a Moonlit Night Du Fu Series: Selected Poems of Du Fu|Collection of Poems by Du Fu Selected Poems of Du Fu Remembering the Brother-in-law on a Moonlit Night
Original text The garrison drum breaks the line of people, and a wild goose sounds by the autumn edge1. The dew is white tonight, and the moon is bright in my hometown. If you have any brothers, they are all scattered, and you have no family to ask about life and death. 3. The letter sent was not received, and the troops were not withdrawn4.
Notes 1 garrison drum: the forbidden drum played by the garrison at night. When the garrison drums sounded, no one came out to move around, but the chirping of geese could be heard in the sky, creating a solemn and solemn atmosphere during wartime. This is the root of Yidi. Yiyan: A single wild goose. The ancients often used the metaphor of flying geese to describe brothers. The word "one wild goose" here implies that brothers are scattered. 2 The dew will turn white tonight: The dew will not turn white if it has not passed through the night. It is said that it is on this night, which means that it coincides with the White Dew Festival, so it is said that "the dew will turn white tonight". The moon is the brightness of my hometown, and the changes in the seasonal sequence increase people's homesickness. The moon is bright everywhere, but my heart misses my hometown, so it is said that "the moon is the brightness of my hometown." Although the moon he saw above his head was the moon in Qinzhou, the poet imagined the moon as the moon in his hometown. 3 These two sentences mean that if you are separated and have a family, you can still ask from your family who will die or who will live. But now the situation is that you are scattered and have no family, so there is no place to ask whether you are alive or dead. 4 The last two sentences mean that in September of the second year of Qianyuan (759), Shi Siming re-captured Luoyang. In October, Shi Siming attacked Heyang and was defeated by Li Guangbi. So there is no withdrawal of troops.
Translation After the watch drum sounded in the garrison, there were no traces of pedestrians on the road. On the border of autumn, there were bursts of sad calls of lonely geese. Tonight coincides with the white dew. I look at the moon and miss my hometown. I feel that the moon in my hometown is even brighter. Although there are brothers, they are all separated. Now the family is in ruins and news about them is nowhere to be found. Relatives are wandering around, and the letters they usually send often cannot be delivered, not to mention the frequent wars now.
Appreciation This poem was written in the autumn of the second year of Qianyuan (759). It is a homesick work written by Du Fu because he missed his separated relatives. At that time, Shi Siming rebelled and the poet abandoned his official position and went to Qinzhou. During the war, he was separated from his relatives and lost contact. Worried, the poet's longing became more intense, so he wrote this five-character poem. The first couplet does not mention "Moonlight Night", but first outlines a picture of the autumn scenery of the frontier. "The broken man's walk" is not only the scene seen by the poet, but also highlights the background of "Moonlight Night", which fully illustrates the constant war; the sound of drums and wild geese is the sound heard by the poet. From what he saw and heard, he described the desolate scene of the frontier, making people feel a depressing atmosphere at all times. The first sentence of the couplet tells people that it is "white dew" at this time, which makes people feel chilly and desolate. The latter sentence is written in a way that blends emotions with the scene, adding the poet's personal feelings to the objective reality to express his longing for his hometown. The poem changes from looking at the moon to being lyrical in the neck couplet. The first sentence says that brothers are separated, and the second sentence says that there is no family left, and the life and death of relatives is unpredictable. The poet's longing for his relatives is evoked by the moonlight. In addition, the moonlit night is cold and the times are troubled, so the poet's melancholy is mixed with concern for his relatives. The tail couplet said that letters written to relatives and friends often cannot be sent, not to mention that now when wars are frequent, relatives are scattered everywhere, and life and death are unpredictable. These two lines of poems express the poet's dissatisfaction with the war. At the same time, they also tactfully explain the deep suffering caused by the Anshi Rebellion to the people, deepening the theme.