"The Beginning of Spring"
Du Fu of the Tang Dynasty
On a spring day, I was serving a plate of thin lettuce, and suddenly I recalled the plum blossoms in the two capitals.
The plate is made of white jade from a high-ranking family, and the vegetables are passed down and the hands are given green silk.
Looking across the Wu Gorge and the cold river, Du Ling feels extremely sad for the distant visitors.
I don’t know where I will end up, so I’m looking for a poem on a piece of paper.
Explanations for words and phrases
⑴Spring plate: It was a custom in the Tang Dynasty that people eat spring pancakes and lettuce at the beginning of spring, which is called spring plate.
⑵Two Capitals: refers to the two cities of Chang'an and Luoyang.
⑶Gaomen: refers to the home of a noble relative.
⑷Biography: Sutra.
⑸That pair of eyes: What a pair of eyes.
⑹ Du Ling Yuan Ke: The poet calls himself. Duling refers to Du County in the southeast of Chang'an. Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty built a mausoleum here, so it was called Duling. Du Fu's distant ancestor Du Yu was from Jingzhao, and Du Fu himself once lived in Shaoling near Du Ling, so he often called himself a distant guest from Du Ling and a wild old man from Shaoling.
⑺Where to return: I want to return to the two capitals, but there is no fixed place yet.
Vernacular translation
Today at the beginning of spring, I suddenly remembered the peaceful years during the Kaiyuan and Tianbao years. At that time, Tokyo, Luoyang and the two capitals, Chang'an, were at their peak.
At the beginning of spring, wealthy families would put green silk and chives on white jade plates and give them to each other through delicate hands to celebrate the festival.
Now that I am living in a different place, I can’t bear to face the cold Wuxia River in front of me! The prosperity of the past and the decline of today make me, a distant visitor from Duling, extremely sad.
Oh my God! Where is my final destination? In order to relieve my worries about traveling, I asked my son to find paper and write this poem.
About the author
Du Fu (712-770), courtesy name Zimei, called himself Shaoling Yelao, known as "Du Gongbu", "Du Shaoling", etc., Han nationality, Henan Prefecture A native of Gong County (now Gongyi City, Henan Province), Du Fu was a great realist poet in the Tang Dynasty. Du Fu was respected as the "Sage of Poetry" by the world, and his poems were called "the history of poetry". Du Fu and Li Bai are 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". He was concerned about the country and the people, and had a noble personality. About 1,400 of his poems have been preserved. His poetic skills are exquisite, and he is highly respected in Chinese classical poetry and has far-reaching influence. He lived in Chengdu from 759 to 766, and is commemorated by Du Fu thatched cottage in later generations.