Thinking of My Brothers on a Moonlit Night
Du Fu
Du Fu
月夜忆舍弟
戍鼓断人行
边秋一雁声
露从今夜白
月是故乡明
有弟皆分散
无家问死生
寄书长不达
况乃未休兵
戍鼓断人行
边秋一雁声
露从今夜白
月是故乡明
有弟皆分散
无家问死生
寄书长不达
况乃未休兵
yuè yè yì shè dì
shù gǔ duàn rén xíng
qiū biān yí yàn shēng
lù cóng jīn yè bái
yuè shì gù xiāng míng
yǒu dì jiē fēn sàn
wú jiā wèn sǐ shēng
jì shū cháng bú bì
kuàng nǎi wèi xiū bīng
shù gǔ duàn rén xíng
qiū biān yí yàn shēng
lù cóng jīn yè bái
yuè shì gù xiāng míng
yǒu dì jiē fēn sàn
wú jiā wèn sǐ shēng
jì shū cháng bú bì
kuàng nǎi wèi xiū bīng
Garrison drum cut person movement
Autumn border one goose sound
Dew from today night white
Moon is homeland bright
Have brother all disperse
No home ask die life
Send letter all not reach
Particularly as not stop fighting
Autumn border one goose sound
Dew from today night white
Moon is homeland bright
Have brother all disperse
No home ask die life
Send letter all not reach
Particularly as not stop fighting
The army drums cut off human travel,
A lone goose sounds on the borderland in autumn.
Tonight we start the season of White Dew,
The moon is just as bright as in my homeland.
My brothers are spread all throughout the land,
No home to ask if they are living or dead.
The letters we send always go astray,
And still the fighting does not cease.
A lone goose sounds on the borderland in autumn.
Tonight we start the season of White Dew,
The moon is just as bright as in my homeland.
My brothers are spread all throughout the land,
No home to ask if they are living or dead.
The letters we send always go astray,
And still the fighting does not cease.
View Chinese text in traditional characters.
Other Chinese poems about Separation, Autumn and War.
Notes: This poem dates from 759, perhaps written on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival (Hawkes, p. 74). The goose is a symbol of autumn and letters from afar (Hawkes, p. 75). White Dew is a period in autumn following the Mid-Autumn festival (Hawkes, p. 74).
This poem is volume (juàn) 225, no. 49 in the Complete Tang Poems (quán táng shī). It is translated as poem 11 in Hawkes, pp. 73-7, poem 52 in Watson, p. 64, and poem CXXXIV in Hung, p.143, and on p. 42 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.
Other Chinese poems about Separation, Autumn and War.
Notes: This poem dates from 759, perhaps written on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival (Hawkes, p. 74). The goose is a symbol of autumn and letters from afar (Hawkes, p. 75). White Dew is a period in autumn following the Mid-Autumn festival (Hawkes, p. 74).
This poem is volume (juàn) 225, no. 49 in the Complete Tang Poems (quán táng shī). It is translated as poem 11 in Hawkes, pp. 73-7, poem 52 in Watson, p. 64, and poem CXXXIV in Hung, p.143, and on p. 42 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.