To Wei Ba Chu Shi.
[Tang] Du Fu
Original text? Translation comparison
It is almost as difficult for friends to meet each other as the stars in the morning and evening.
Tonight is a rare event, and this lamp is candlelight.
Two men who were young not long ago now have gray temples.
It shocked us to find that half of our friends had died, which made us sad.
We didn't expect that it would be twenty years before I could come to see you again.
You were unmarried when I left, but now these boys and girls are in a row.
They were very kind to their father's old friends. They asked me where I went during the trip.
Then, when we talked for a while, our daughter drank wine.
In spring, leeks are in the night rain, and brown rice is cooked fresh in a special way.
My host announced that it was a festival, and he urged me to drink ten cups.
But what kind of ten glasses of wine can make me so drunk, because your love is always in my heart. .
The mountains will separate us tomorrow. Who can say for sure after tomorrow? .
Chu Shi to Wei Ba is the work of Du Fu, a great poet in the Tang Dynasty.
This poem was written after the poet was demoted to join the army. The poem is about the scene of meeting a teenager's intimate friend, expressing the uncertainty of life, and the old friends are particularly close when they meet. However, after being together for a period of time, I feel that the world is slim and infinite. The first four sentences are about reunion after a long separation. From parting to meeting, I am sad and happy, and I am sad and happy. The fifth to eighth sentences, from where will you go, reveal the reality that life is sinister and shallow; Fourteen sentences from "how to know" to "how to make sense" are about the reunion with Wei Ba Chu Shi and the warm hospitality of the host and family, expressing the poet's cherish of the beauty of life and human feelings; The last two sentences will be very sad, low-key and intriguing. The whole poem is plain and true, with orderly levels.
Vernacular translation
The journey of life is often difficult to meet after parting, just like it is difficult to meet stars and businessmen.
Tonight is another auspicious day. Let's talk by candlelight.
How many youthful and energetic years can there be? In a blink of an eye, you and I have cleared the air.
Half of my old friends have passed away, and I have to lament repeatedly because of my inner agitation.
I didn't expect that we could visit your hall today after 20 years of separation.
The difference is that you are not married, and suddenly your children are a mess.
They greeted my father's old friends politely and kindly asked me where I came from.
Before you could tell all the past, you urged your children to set the table and drinks quickly.
Braving the night rain, I cut off fresh leeks and took out newly cooked yellow rice for me to taste.
The host felt that the opportunity to meet was rare and drank more than a dozen cups in a row.
I am very touched that you are not drunk after drinking more than ten cups in a row and have deep feelings for your old friends.
Leave tomorrow, and Qian Shan will be separated by thousands of waters. The wide world is really sad.
Word annotation
(1) Wei Ba Chu Shi, his name and life story has been unable to research. Chu Shi refers to a reclusive official; Eight is Chu Shi's ranking.
(2) Moving like means moving like. Quotient (shēn), two-star name. The allusion comes from the left: "There were two sons in the family, and Bo was called Bo, which was really heavy. Living in the vast forest, they can't compete with each other. Find a war to conquer every day. The Empress did not hide and moved to Shangqiu. Chen was the main cause and Shang was the cause, so Chen was the Shang star. I moved to summer, and I was the main participant. Tang people are the cause of serving the Xia and Shang Dynasties. " ShangXing lives in the east (5 am to 7 am) and Shen Xing lives in the west (5 pm to 7 pm), so they never meet, so they think it's better than that.
③ Pale and gray.
(4) The phrase "visiting the old" means asking about old friends and relatives, but half of them are dead. Visit the past and make a "visit".
⑸ "exclaim" sentence: There are two understandings. One is: seeing the exclamation of an old friend makes people feel warm inside; Second, accidental death makes people scream and scream until they are agitated. Exclaimed, a "cry".
[6] Line (háng), many children.
⑺ "Father's Persistence": The word "Book of Rites Quli" says "See the father's persistence." It means father's friend. Peng is a borrowing word to pick up, and picking up a friend is a close friend.
Not yet completed, not yet completed.
Levies "children" are "drivers". Luo, list the food and wine.
⑽ The sentence "Rain at Night" is related to the story of Guo cutting leeks in the rain to entertain his friend Fan Kui. Zong Lin made his bed, and his friend Fan Kui came in the evening. He cut leeks in the rain and made soup cakes for him. "Qionglin": cutting leeks in the rain, Guo friendship is yin; Walking in the snow in Xun Mei, Meng Haoran amused himself.
Creation background
This poem may have been written by Du Fu when he joined the army in Gan Yuan, Tang Suzong in 759. In the winter of the first year of Gan Yuan (758), Du Fu was demoted as the secretariat of Huazhou to join the army for helping to save the government. In winter, Du Fu asked for leave to return to Luoyang, the eastern capital, to visit Lu Hunzhuang, his former residence. In March of the second year of Gan Yuan, the division of Jiujidu was defeated in Yecheng, Du Fu returned to Huazhou from Luoyang via Tongguan, Wei Ba's family was in Fengxian, and Du Fu passed through here when he turned around. In Fengxian, Du Fu visited his boyhood friend Wei Ba Chu Shi who lived in the countryside. Occasional meeting and hasty farewell have produced a sigh that most people have separated from each other in chaotic times and the world has changed, so I wrote this emotional work and presented it to Wei Ba Chu Shi.
Overall appreciation
This poem was written by an old friend who met after a long separation, and it is full of home-made scenes and words. It shows the feelings of "vicissitudes of life" and "not easy to be difficult" that ordinary people have in troubled times. At the same time, it is very vivid and natural, so it has always been loved by people.
The first four sentences say: life is like people participating in Shang Xing, and they can't meet each other; When is the evening? Let's talk together in this candlelight. These words, from parting to meeting, are also the intersection of sadness and joy, bringing a strong sense of life into the poem. When the poet reunited with Wei Ba, the Anshi Rebellion had lasted for more than three years. Although the two capitals have been recovered, the rebels are still rampant and the situation is turbulent. The poet's lament hides his feelings about this chaotic era.
Reunion after a long separation, changes in each other's appearance, naturally the most likely to attract attention. Both of them were very young when they left, and they were already gray at this time. The sentence "Two men who were young not long ago now have gray temples" comes from the sentence "When can I become", which expresses regret and fear for the rapid changes in the world and life. Then ask each other about the whereabouts of relatives and friends, half of whom are no longer alive. They couldn't help exclaiming and feeling restless. It is said that Du Fu is only 48 years old this year, and half of his relatives have passed away, which is not normal. If the beginning "it is almost as difficult for friends to meet" has vaguely revealed the breath of the times, then half of the deaths of such relatives and friends have more strongly hinted at a big war. After the sentence "How do you know" followed by "Tonight is a rare thing, this candle", the poet deliberately used rhetorical questions, which included the feeling that each other could unexpectedly live to this day. Among them, there is neither liberation of survival nor deep pain.
Brief introduction of the author
Du fu (7 12 ~ 770), with a beautiful word, claimed to be a young man and an old man. Take Jinshi as an example. He used to be a foreign minister in the school department, so he was called Du Gongbu internationally. He is the greatest realistic poet in the Tang Dynasty, and is known as the "poet saint" after the Song Dynasty, and is also called "Du Li" with Li Bai. His poems boldly exposed the social contradictions at that time and expressed deep sympathy for the poor people. Many excellent works show the historical process of the Tang Dynasty from prosperity to decline, which is called "the history of poetry". In art, he is good at using various forms of poetry, especially rhythmic poetry; Various styles, mainly depression; Refined language with high expressive force. There are more than 1400 poems, including Du Gongbu Collection.