Year
This poem tells the story of a beautiful and virtuous woman who fell on hard times by chance and ended up poor in a remote village. She had come from a good family holding high government positions in the frontier. However, due to a revolt or attack, her brothers were killed and she couldn’t even retrieve their remains.
Later she married, but her husband took a new wife and abandoned her while the new wife lived comfortably. She had to live in a thatched cottage and sell her jewelry to support herself. In the end, she could only hold onto cypress leaves (symbolizing fidelity and sincerity) and lean on the support of her cultivated bamboo (symbolizing virtue).
Translation
By Du Fu (712-770 AD) | 杜甫 |
Beautiful Woman | 佳人 |
Peerless, beautiful woman | 絕代 有佳人 |
Living remotely in a barren land, | 幽居 在空穀 |
Coming from a good family, | 自雲 良家子 |
Now withered and fallen, living among the grass and trees. | 零落 依 草木 |
*** | |
In the frontier midst, her former times— a bloody disaster | 關中 昔 喪亂 |
Her brothers by chance encountered a slaughter | 兄弟 遭 殺戮 |
And though high officials, how was this sufficient | 官高 何足論 |
When she couldn’t gather their skeletal remains? | 不得 收 骨肉 |
*** | |
The world’s sentiments turn ugly on those who fall | 世情 惡 衰歇 |
And all things follow the shifting candlelight | 萬事 隨 轉燭 |
*** | |
Her husband was a weak child, a philanderer | 夫婿 輕薄兒 |
He took a new bride, beautiful as jade. | 新人 美如玉 |
Though feeling like fainting, she was still aware | 合昏 尚知時 |
Mandarin ducks, those affectionate couples, do not sleep alone | 鴛鴦 不獨宿 |
But seeing the new bride smile— | 但見 新人笑 |
That news drove this old bride to tears | 那聞 舊人 哭 |
*** | |
In a mountain the spring water is clean and pure | 在山 泉水 清 |
But leaving the mountain the spring water turns to filth and mud | 出山 泉水 濁 |
*** | |
Her servant girl sold off her jewelry | 侍婢 賣珠迴 |
And she pulled off the vines, mending her thatched cottage | 牽蘿 補 茅屋 |
And plucked flowers were not for the hair’s wearing: | 摘花 不 插髮 |
She took the cypress flowers, offering them up with both hands | 採柏 動盈掬 |
And though the heavens were cold and her sleeves of green were thin, | 天寒 翠袖薄 |
Both day and night she leaned on her own bamboo | 日暮 倚 修竹 |
Original Chinese
Traditional | Simplified | Pronunciation |
杜甫 | 杜甫 | Dù Fǔ |
佳人 | 佳人 | Jiā Rén |
絕代有佳人， | 绝代有佳人， | Jué dài // yǒu jiā rén, |
幽居在空穀； | 幽居在空谷; | Yōu jū // zài kōng gǔ; |
自雲良家子， | 自云良家子， | Zì yún // liáng jiā zi, |
零落依草木。 | 零落依草木。 | Líng luò // yī cǎo mù. |
關中昔喪亂， | 关中昔丧乱， | Guān zhōng // xī sāng luàn, |
兄弟遭殺戮； | 兄弟遭杀戮; | Xiōng dì // zāo shā lù; |
官高何足論？ | 官高何足论？ | Guān gāo // hé zú lùn? |
不得收骨肉。 | 不得收骨肉。 | Bù dé // shōu gǔ ròu. |
世情惡衰歇， | 世情恶衰歇， | Shì qíng // è shuāi xiē, |
萬事隨轉燭。 | 万事随转烛。 | Wàn shì // suí zhuàn zhú. |
夫婿輕薄兒， | 夫婿轻薄儿， | Fū xù // qīng bó er, |
新人美如玉。 | 新人美如玉。 | Xīn rén // měi rú yù. |
合昏尚知時， | 合昏尚知时， | Hé hūn // shàng zhī shí, |
鴛鴦不獨宿； | 鸳鸯不独宿; | Yuān yāng // bù dú sù; |
但見新人笑， | 但见新人笑， | Dàn jiàn // xīn rén xiào, |
那聞舊人哭？ | 那闻旧人哭？ | Nà wén // jiù rén kū? |
在山泉水清， | 在山泉水清， | Zài shān // quán shuǐ qīng, |
出山泉水濁。 | 出山泉水浊。 | Chū shān // quán shuǐ zhuó. |
侍婢賣珠迴， | 侍婢卖珠回， | Shì bì // mài zhū huí, |
牽蘿補茅屋。 | 牵萝补茅屋。 | Qiān luó // bǔ máo wū. |
摘花不插髮， | 摘花不插发， | Zhāi huā // bu chā fā, |
採柏動盈掬。 | 采柏动盈掬。 | Cǎi bǎi // dòng yíng jū. |
天寒翠袖薄， | 天寒翠袖薄， | Tiān hán // cuì xiù báo, |
日暮倚修竹。 | 日暮倚修竹。 | Rì mù // yǐ xiū zhú. |
Literal Translation
Stop Begin (Du Fu (712-770 AD)) | 杜甫 |
Beautiful/Good/Delightful Person [=Beautiful Woman] | 佳人 |
Cut replace have/there-is beautiful person [cut replace = peerless/unmatched; beautiful person = beautiful woman] | 絕代有佳人， |
Remote reside/live at empty grain | 幽居在空穀； |
Self clouds good house offspring/seed | 自雲良家子， |
Fragment drop rely-on/depend on grass tree [fragment drop = withered and fallen] [grass tree = vegetation] | 零落依草木。 |
Frontier midst former-times funeral/mourning revolt/chaos [frontier midst = Guanzhong plain; funeral revolt = tragic disaster/disturbance & bloodshed] | 關中昔喪亂， |
Elder-brother younger-brother meet-by-chance slaughter massacre [elder-brother younger-brother = brothers] | 兄弟遭殺戮； |
Official high how enough/satisfy by-the/theory | 官高何足論？ |
Not obtain gather/receive bone/skeleton flesh [not obtain = cannot; bone flesh = blood relation, kin] | 不得收骨肉。 |
World feeling evil/ugly become-weak stay | 世情惡衰歇， |
10,000 accident follow shift candle [10,000 accident = all things] | 萬事隨轉燭。 |
Man husband easy weak child/son [easy weak = philanderer] | 夫婿輕薄兒， |
New person beautiful like jade [new person = new bride] | 新人美如玉。 |
Join dusk/faint/lose-consciousness still aware time/season | 合昏尚知時， |
Male-mandarin-duck female-mandarin duck not alone rest [mandarin ducks = affectionate couple; not alone = not only] | 鴛鴦不獨宿； |
But/yet see new person laugh/smile [new person = new bride] | 但見新人笑， |
That hear former person cry | 那聞舊人哭？ |
At mountain spring water pure/clean | 在山泉水清， |
Leave mountain spring water muddy/filthy | 出山泉水濁。 |
Attend-upon servant-girl sell/show-off jewel return | 侍婢賣珠迴， |
Pull vines mend reeds shelter [reeds shelter = thatched cottage] | 牽蘿補茅屋。 |
Pluck flower not insert hair | 摘花不插髮， |
Pluck cypress move fill grasp-with-both-hands [cypress leaves symbolize fidelity; grasp-with-both-hands means to offer up sincerely] | 採柏動盈掬。 |
Sky/heavens cold green sleeve thin | 天寒翠袖薄， |
Day evening lean-on/rely-on cultivate bamboo [day evening = sunset; bamboo symbolizes virtue] | 日暮倚修竹。 |