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Re: 唐朝選詩 Selected poems from the Tang Dynasty

Author: CHUNG Yoon Ngan
Date: 06-24-11 20:04

杜甫詩 A poem by Du Fu (712AD to 770AD) -

048. 天末(*1A)懷李白 Thinking of Li Bai

涼風起天末.---Liang2 feng qi3 tian mo4,
君子意如何?--Jun zi3 yi4 ru2 he2?
鴻雁幾時到,---Hong2 yan4 ji shi2 dao4,
江湖秋水多.---Jiang hu2 qiu shui3 duo.

文章憎命達,---Wen2 zhang zeng ming4 da2,
魑魅喜人過.---Chi mei4(*2B) xi3 ren2 guo4.
應共冤魂語,---Ying gong4 yuan hun2(*3C) yu3,
投詩贈汨羅.---Tou2 shi zeng Miluo(*4D).
..........................................................

The explanations in Chinese and English

(1) 涼颼颼的風, 從天邊發起來了,
The chilly wind is blowing from the horizon,
(2) 你有什麼感想呢?
What is your impression?
(3) 遠地的鴻雁, 幾時可以飛到這裡,
When will the distant swan geese fly over here,
(4) 江湖中的秋水, 現在必加多了.
Now the water in the rivers and lakes has risen.

(5) 你有很好的文章, 可惜命運不好.
Your literary works are very good, but it's a pity that your luck is bad.
(6) 那些害人的鬼怪, 最喜歡人們走過去被牠傷害.
Those harmful demons and monsters are too happy to see people passing their
ways so that they can harm them.
(7) 我看你應該把胸中的苦悶, 向屈原的冤魂去告訴,
I think you should let off the depression in your chest, and tell Qu Yuan(*5E)
,
(8) 做了一首詩投到汨羅江裡給他吧!
Write a poem and throw it into Miluo River to Qu Yuan!

Notes:
(*1A) 天未 = 天邊。

(*2B) 魑魅 = 山林中害人的鬼怪。

(*3C) 冤魂 = 含冤的靈魂

(*4D) Miluo River (汨羅 in the present day county of Xiangyin 湘陰縣 in
Hunan province 湖南省).

(*5E) Qu Yuan (屈原339BC to 278BC) was a great scholar who lived in the
State of Chu (楚國) during the Warring States Period (戰國時代 453BC to
221BC). Disappointed by the King of Chu who did not want to use his talent
Qu Yuan jumped into the Miluo River and was drowned. The day he died was
the 5th day of the 5th month. The people of later generations took this
day as the day to commemorate Qu Yuan and had Dragon Boats Racing and eating
glutinous rice dumplings.
---------------------------------------------------------

A brief biography of the Tang poet - Du Fu (杜甫 712AD to 770AD)

Du Fu, a renowned poet, was born in Gong Xian (鞏縣) in Henan province (河
南省) during the Tang Dynasty (唐朝 618AD to 907AD). His father was a low
ranking official. At the age of 14 or 15 he began to write poetry and at
20 he left home and went touring. In 735AD he sat for the Palace Examinations
and he failed. The following year he left home the second time and went
touring the present day province of Hebei (河北省). After 5 years of roaming
the North he returned home to Luoyang (洛陽) in 741AD. He met Li Bo (李白
), another poet, in about 744AD and they went touring together in the area
south of Changjiang (長江). In 746AD he bade farewell to Li Bai and went
to the capital Chang An (長安 present day Xi An 西安 in Shaanxi province
陜西省).

Du Fu's intention of going to Chang An was to become an official. At that
time, the Tang Court was very corrupted and the administration was controlled
by Yang Guo Zhong (楊國忠), the first cousin older brother of Yang Gui Fei
(楊貴妃) who was the Emperor Xuan Zong Li Long Ji's (玄宗皇帝李隆基 713AD
to 755AD) favourite concubine. The Emperor had no time for the official
because Yang Gui Fei took up almost all his time and attention. Althogh
Du Fu applied for a position he was not accepted.

At that time, it was the fashion of the learned men to write poetry to the
officials, particularly the members of the Imperial Academy (翰林學士),
hoping that the officials could pay attention to their poetry and to recommend
them to Government jobs. Du Fu was of no exception. He began to write poems
and presented them to the high officials. He even presented his poems twice
to Emperor Xuan Zong, but without any respond from the Emperor.

In 752AD, Yang Guo Zhong became the Prime Minister. He was very corrupted
and had amassed a great fortune. He was not only the Prime Minister but
also held more than forty other porfolios. The Emperor's excesses and obsessions
with his beloved concubine, Yang Gui Fei, brought about the gross neglect
of affairs to the country.

Finally, in 755AD the Government offered Du Fu a job as a junior officer
in He Xi (河西 in the present day province of Gansu 甘肅省). Knowing that
this job was to wring every ounce of sweat and blood out of the people in
He Xi, Du Fu turned down the offer and asked for a better job. The Government
then gave him a junior position as an officer in the Weaponry Department.
Although the job was a very low position, 8th grade, he considered that
it was better than a juinor officer to He Xi to oppress people.

Before Du Fu took up the position as a junior official there was turmoil
in the country. An Lu Shan (安祿山), the non-Han Chinese commander-in-chief
and Governor of Fan Yang (范陽 present day Beijing 北京 city in Hebei province
河北省), rebelled against the Tang Government. With 170,000 troops under
his command An Lu Shan marched west to the Tang capital Chang An. It seemed
that An Lu Shan and his troops were unstoppable. They crossed the Yellow
River, overran Luoyang (洛陽 in Henan province 河南省) and turned west marching
towards the capital. Under such an environment it was very hard for Du Fu
as he was without a job and had a family to support. He lived like a beggar
asking friends for assistance. He was so poor that he had no money to buy
food for his family. Due to this factor his youngest son died of starvation.

The Tang Court was in panic. Emperor Xuan Zong ordered a mass evacuation.
In the fourth Month in 755AD An Lu Shan occupied the capital and razed it
to the ground. Du Fu and his family managed to escape to Feng Xiang (鳳翔
) in Shaanxi province.

Emperor Xuan Zong and his Court together with thousands of residents from
the capital, fled southwest towards Cheng Du (成都 in the present day of
Sichuan province 四川省). Arriving at a place called Ma Wei Po (馬嵬坡 present
day Xing Ping county 興平縣 in Shaanxi province) about 100 kilometers from
the capital, the retreating army and the mass of people stopped and refused
to go any further. They demanded the death of the Emperor's concubine, Yang
Gui Fei, and her elder cousin brother Yang Guo Zhong, the Prime Minister.
Under such extreme circumstances Emperor Xuan Zong had no alternative but
to issue an order to have them executed. Yang Guo Zhong was put to death
by beheading and Yang Gui Fei was by hanging from a tree.

While the Tang Court took refuge in Cheng Du the lovelorn Emperor was pining
away. Eventually Emperor Xuan Zong abdicated the throne and his third son,
Li Heng (李亨) was installed as Emperor Su Zong (肅宗). In 757AD An Lu Shan
was killed by his own son, An Qing Xu (安慶緒). The rebellions started by
An Lu Shan was crushed and the Tang Court returned to the capital, Chang
an.

Having returned to the capital, Emperor Su Zong reorganized the Tang Administration.
At the end of 757AD Du Fu was appointed as 左拾遺 or an adviser to the
Emperor. Finally, Du Fu had a good job and he was very happy. However, being
a poet he sometime criticized the Government in his poems and Emperor Su
Zong could not tolerate his criticism. Eventually he was demoted and sent
to work in the Department of Defence in Hua Zhou (華州), near his hometown
Luoyang, in the present day Henan province. He continued to write poetry
profusely.

In the 7th Month of 759AD Du Fu resigned his Government job and went to
Cheng Du to see his friend, Yan Wu (嚴武), who was the Governor of Cheng
Du city. He worked as an adviser to his friend. When Yan Wu died Du Fu left
Cheng Du and went touring. He toured Jia Zhou (嘉州), Yu Zhou (渝州), Zhong
Zhou (忠州), Jiang Ling (江陵) and other places. In 770AD he arrived at
Tan Zhou (潭州). From there he took a boat to Yue Yang (岳陽). Unfortunately,
Du Fu died on the boat.

Posted to asiawind.com
By CHUNG Yoon-Ngan (鄭永元)

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