Autumn Meditations (3)
Du Fu
Du Fu
秋兴八首 (三)
千家山郭静朝晖
一日江楼坐翠微
信宿渔人还泛泛
清秋燕子故飞飞
匡衡抗疏功名薄
刘向传经心事违
同学少年多不贱
五陵衣马自轻肥
千家山郭静朝晖
一日江楼坐翠微
信宿渔人还泛泛
清秋燕子故飞飞
匡衡抗疏功名薄
刘向传经心事违
同学少年多不贱
五陵衣马自轻肥
qiū xìng bā shǒu (sān)
qiān jiā shān guō jìng cháo huī
yī rì jiāng lóu zuò cuì wēi
xìn sù yú rén hái fàn fàn
qīng qiū yàn zǐ gù fēi fēi
kuāng héng kàng shū gōng míng báo
liú xiàng chuán jīng xīn shì wéi
tóng xué shào nián duō bú jiàn
wǔ líng yī mǎ zì qīng féi
qiān jiā shān guō jìng cháo huī
yī rì jiāng lóu zuò cuì wēi
xìn sù yú rén hái fàn fàn
qīng qiū yàn zǐ gù fēi fēi
kuāng héng kàng shū gōng míng báo
liú xiàng chuán jīng xīn shì wéi
tóng xué shào nián duō bú jiàn
wǔ líng yī mǎ zì qīng féi
1000 home mountain suburb quiet morning light
One day river tower sit green hill
Two nights fishermen still float float
Clear autumn swallow old fly fly
Kuang Heng submit memorial achieve rank little
Liu Xiang transmit classic heart affair apart
Schoolmates early years many not poor
5 tombs furs horse self light fat
One day river tower sit green hill
Two nights fishermen still float float
Clear autumn swallow old fly fly
Kuang Heng submit memorial achieve rank little
Liu Xiang transmit classic heart affair apart
Schoolmates early years many not poor
5 tombs furs horse self light fat
A mountain suburb of a thousand homes in the quiet morning light,
All day I sit by the river in my tower on the green hill.
For two nights the fishermen have stayed there floating, floating,
In the clear autumn still the swallows fly and fly.
Kuang Heng submitted memorials; I've won little praise,
Liu Xiang passed on the classics; my wishes are not realised.
The schoolmates of my early years mostly are not poor,
In the five tomb towns their furs and horses light and fat.
All day I sit by the river in my tower on the green hill.
For two nights the fishermen have stayed there floating, floating,
In the clear autumn still the swallows fly and fly.
Kuang Heng submitted memorials; I've won little praise,
Liu Xiang passed on the classics; my wishes are not realised.
The schoolmates of my early years mostly are not poor,
In the five tomb towns their furs and horses light and fat.
View Chinese text in traditional characters.
Other Chinese poems about Autumn.
Notes: This poem date from 766 (Watson p. 129). Kuang Heng and Liu Xiang enjoyed official and literary success respectively in the Han dynasty (Owen p. 436). The five tomb towns were rich suburbs of Chang'an; the last line is a reference to descriptions of worldly success in the Analects V.25 (Owen p. 436) or VI.4 (Watson p. 133).
This poem is volume (juàn) 230, no. 2 in the Complete Tang Poems (quán táng shī). It is translated on pp. 435-6 of Owen and p. 82 of Hinton, and as poem 111 in Watson, pp. 132-3 and poem CCLXXXIII in Hung, p. 234.
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.
Owen, S. (1996) An Anthology of Chinese Literature: Beginnings to 1911. New York/London, W. W. Norton.
Watson, B. (2002) The Selected Poems of Du Fu. New York, Columbia University Press.
