Du Fu – Spring Gazes – Tang Poetry Masters Series

Today, we finish up the 3 part series on Tang Poetry Masters with a look at Du Fu, China’s poet historian. The An Lushan Rebellion tore the Tang Dynasty in half and is one of the defining events of Chinese history. Du Fu is pivotal for our memory of that event, as his poems are often how the war is discussed, even today. In today’s podcast, we look at two-ish poems that Du Fu wrote about the An Lushan Rebellion and try to better understand Du Fu’s life. 

My Translation:

The nation is broken, but the mountains and rivers abide,

It’s spring in the city, the grass and trees grow thick. 

Moved by the times, my tears sprinkle the flowers,

Hating being separated, the birds startle my heart. 

For three months straight, the beacon fires have burned, 

A letter from home is equal to a million bucks. 

I have spent so much time scratching my white hair that it has grown thin,

and no longer can support the weight of my hairpin. 

Original:

國破山河在，城春草木深。

感時花濺淚，恨別鳥驚心。

烽火連三月，家書抵萬金。

白頭搔更短，渾欲不勝簪。