Skip to main content

Du Fu - 春望

春望


国破山河在
城春草木深
感时花溅泪
恨别鸟惊心
烽火连三月
家书抵万金
白头搔更短
浑欲不胜簪

Spring View

The country is broken.
The mountains and rivers are here.
The city's spring is deep with grass and trees.
Moved by the moment, flowers are splashed with tears.
Detesting parting - a bird startles the heart.
The flame of the beacon fires has continued for three months.
Family letters are worth ten thousand gold.
Scratching the white hair on my head,
it's thinning,
and cannot hold a hairpin.

Originally composed by Du Fu.
Translated by Elizabeth Paich, 2009.

Originally Posted: 2009.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Chan & Zen Influence in Painting

Chan & Zen Buddhism’s Influence in Painting   Chan and Zen Buddhism’s unique style, because of the traditions’ straightforwardness and distinctive sense of humor, has influenced classical Japanese and Chinese artists alike. Chan and Zen’s limited use of color produces images with an eye-catching high contrast and the fluidity of the brushwork is instantaneous – with the stroke being a spontaneous and quick motion from wrist to brush. The brushwork in Chan and Zen-inspired paintings is not only an immediate action of the artist but also mirrors the calligraphic writing style of China and Japan. Chan and Zen-inspired artists focus on landscapes, figure-studies, and even objects that represent visual koans – or unanswerable riddles. Figure-studies usually include Daoist and Buddhist immortals, classical poets, and Buddhist monks and patriarchs.  Spontaneous Mode and Splashed Ink Style   The two styles of painting that inspired me to create my series are known a...

Daoism and Nature

The Role of the Natural Environment in the Shaping of Daoism  [1]   While the majority of Asian religions and philosophies reference nature, none make nature and naturalness their fundamental focus as Daoism does. Daoism is built upon the belief that the Dao , or the Way, is in harmony with the natural environment and that ziran , naturalness, is the ideal behavior for humans. In the Dao De Jing and Zhuangzi , nature and natural elements are woven into the texts to illustrate Daoist virtues, values, and practices. The Taijitu  ( yin - yang symbol) is an important Daoist image that portrays the continuous transformations and harmonious balance believed to be a way of the natural world. Knowledge of nature and natural ingredients are important for the Daoist practice of alchemy and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). In addition, Daoist beliefs criticize development and modernization, because such things are not in harmony with wu wei , non-action. Instead, Daoism promot...

Confucian Exams

Confucian Ideology and Traditional Chinese Politics   In traditional Chinese politics, the autocracy was maintained by Confucian ideology, which preached filial piety. Filial piety promoted a hierarchy of loyalty and respect from younger to elder, and the emperor sat at the top of this system. Filial piety was stressed in official education, which prepared male citizens for the civil service examination. In order to become a bureaucrat and serve in the government, intense memorization and study of Confucian classics were necessary in order to succeed in exams and climb through the degree ranks to secure a bureaucratic position in the government. This process was time-consuming and meant those who spent their lives striving for excellence in the system did not wish to see it falter in any way. For those who did not do as well as they wished in exams, dissenting views would, of course, emerge towards the system, but those who did well nonetheless retained the status, power, and we...