At the end of the year
At the end of the year, we are guests from far away, and we still use troops on the border.
Smoke and dust invade the snowy ridge②, and the horns stir the river city③.
Heaven, earth, and sun bleed, who will ask for a tassel in the imperial court?
Ji Shi dared to love to death? Loneliness is terrifying! [1]
Notes
① "At the end of the year" sentence: The author lived in Zizhou in December of this year. ②Xueling: Xishan, located to the west of Chengdu, is named after the year-round snow. ③Jiangcheng: refers to Zizhou City (now Santai County, Sichuan), Zizhou is adjacent to the Fujiang River. ④ Asking for a tassel: A soldier comes forward to ask for orders to kill the enemy. The Chinese version of "Han Shu." "The Biography of the Final Army": "The army has petitioned to receive a long tassel, and it must be restrained by the King of South Vietnam."
Translation
As a guest in a foreign land, the end of the year is approaching; on the frontier of border defense, the war is still going on. In progress.
The alarm came, the enemy invaded the snow ridge; the sound of military drums and horns shook the river city.
The soldiers at the front are bleeding and dying day and night; can any of the officials of the imperial court ask for help?
How dare you spare your life when the country is in crisis; there is no way to repay the favor, and there is no pride!
Du Fu (712-770), whose courtesy name is Zimei, calls himself Shaolingye Lao in his poems. He lived during the historical period when the Tang Dynasty was transitioning from prosperity to decline. His poems mostly dealt with social unrest, political darkness, and people's suffering, and are known as the "History of Poetry." He was concerned about the country and the people, had a noble personality, and had exquisite poetic skills. He was also regarded as the "Sage of Poetry". AD 763 was the first year of Emperor Guangde's reign in the Tang Dynasty. In this year, Du Fu was fifty-two years old. This year, he was first in Zizhou. When he heard that the government troops had defeated the rebels, he wrote the famous "Hearing that the government troops took over Henan and Hebei". Then he wanted to return the capital, and soon he wanted to go east to Wu and Chu. During this period, he went to Langzhou (now Langzhong, Sichuan). Here, he heard the news of the Tibetan invasion, so Du Fu, who was worried about his country, wrote this poem "The End of the Year". The first couplet explains that the poet was living in a foreign country, and at the end of the year, he heard news of foreign invasion from the border. The poet who has just experienced the Anshi Rebellion hopes that the country will be stable and the people can live and work in peace and contentment. However, the internal worries have not yet completely subsided, and foreign troubles are coming one after another. Therefore, the seemingly plain narrative tone of the first couplet contains the heavy mood of the poet who is concerned about the country and the people! The couplet uses "smoke" and "drum horns" to represent war. The smoke of war enveloped the snowy mountains, and the sound of drums and horns also shook the river city. The word "criminal" and the word "move" describe the poet's inner feelings after hearing the invasion of foreign enemies. The strong impact he received contained the poet's sincere emotion for the people of the country. The neck couplet first writes "Heaven, Earth, and Sun bleed." There are people bleeding every day in the world (or it can be interpreted as "Even 'Heaven, Earth, and Sun' is bleeding"). The bloodshed caused by the war is so terrible! Then the author expressed his concern: "Who will be invited to the imperial court?" After experiencing the An-Shi Rebellion, the country was in chaos. Now that it is facing the invasion of a powerful enemy, will anyone still be invited to fight against the enemy? The last couplet starts with a rhetorical question: "Dare you die for Ji Shi?" A person who truly cares about the country will not care about personal life and death, honor or disgrace. In order to save the country, the nation, and the people of the world, he will only devote himself to protecting the country without regard for his own life. Amidst the bloody storm of the country. The last sentence, "Lonely and frightening," points out the poet's state of mind at this time. The word "loneliness" has two meanings: first, the poet was living alone in Langzhou at this time, and he was indeed lonely; second, the poet had a desire to serve the country, but was unable to display it, so he could only be lonely. However, the poet is, after all, a poet who cares about the country and the people. Even though he is over fifty years old, he still has a "strong heart" beating in his chest! The word "surprise" fully revealed his "ambitious heart" to serve the country, which suddenly moved and burst into pride after hearing the invasion of foreign enemies.