Climbing High
Du Fu
Du Fu
登高
风急天高猿啸哀
渚清沙白鸟飞回
无边落木萧萧下
不尽长江滚滚来
万里悲秋常作客
百年多病独登台
艰难苦恨繁霜鬓
潦倒新停浊酒杯
风急天高猿啸哀
渚清沙白鸟飞回
无边落木萧萧下
不尽长江滚滚来
万里悲秋常作客
百年多病独登台
艰难苦恨繁霜鬓
潦倒新停浊酒杯
dēng gāo
fēng jí tiān gāo yuán xiào āi
zhǔ qīng shā bái niǎo fēi huí
wú biān luò mù xiāo xiāo xià
bú jìn cháng jiāng gǔn gǔn lái
wàn lǐ bēi qiū cháng zuò kè
bǎi nián duō bìng dú dēng tái
jiān nán kǔ hèn fán shuāng bìn
liáo dǎo xīn tíng zhuó jiǔ bēi
fēng jí tiān gāo yuán xiào āi
zhǔ qīng shā bái niǎo fēi huí
wú biān luò mù xiāo xiāo xià
bú jìn cháng jiāng gǔn gǔn lái
wàn lǐ bēi qiū cháng zuò kè
bǎi nián duō bìng dú dēng tái
jiān nán kǔ hèn fán shuāng bìn
liáo dǎo xīn tíng zhuó jiǔ bēi
Wind swift heaven high ape cry grief
Islet clear sand white bird fly circle
No edge fall tree rustle rustle down
No end great river surge surge arrive
10,000 li sorrow autumn always be a guest
100 years many sickness alone climb platform
Difficult suffering regret numerous white temples
Frustrated now stop turbid drink cup
Islet clear sand white bird fly circle
No edge fall tree rustle rustle down
No end great river surge surge arrive
10,000 li sorrow autumn always be a guest
100 years many sickness alone climb platform
Difficult suffering regret numerous white temples
Frustrated now stop turbid drink cup
Swift wind, heaven high, an ape's cry of grief,
At the islet of clear white sand, birds circle round.
Endlessly, trees shed leaves, rustling, rustling down,
Without cease, the great river surges, surges on.
Ten thousand miles in sorrowful autumn, always someone's guest,
A hundred years full of sickness, I climb the terrace alone.
Suffering troubles, I bitterly regret my whitening temples,
Frustratingly I've had to abandon my cup of cloudy wine.
At the islet of clear white sand, birds circle round.
Endlessly, trees shed leaves, rustling, rustling down,
Without cease, the great river surges, surges on.
Ten thousand miles in sorrowful autumn, always someone's guest,
A hundred years full of sickness, I climb the terrace alone.
Suffering troubles, I bitterly regret my whitening temples,
Frustratingly I've had to abandon my cup of cloudy wine.
View Chinese text in traditional characters.
Other Chinese poems about Nature, Autumn and Age.
Notes: This poem dates from around 766; it was written for the Double Ninth festival, on which people traditionally climbed to a height and drank wine together (Watson pp. 145-6). The great river is the Yangtse river.
This poem is volume (juàn) 227, no. 76 in the Complete Tang Poems (quán táng shī). It is translated as poem 33 in Hawkes, pp. 203-5, poem CCCXXV in Hung , p. 249 and poem 120 in Watson, p. 146, and on p. 94 of Hinton.
Hawkes, D. (1967) A Little Primer of Tu Fu. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
Hinton, D. (1990) The Selected Poems of Tu Fu. London, Anvil Press Poetry.
Hung, W. (1952) Tu Fu: China's Greatest Poet. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press.
Watson, B. (2002) The Selected Poems of Du Fu. New York, Columbia University Press.
