Du Mu Poem: To the Early Wild Geese – 杜牧《早雁》

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早雁

杜牧

金河[1]秋半虏[2]弦开,

云外惊飞四散哀。

仙掌[3]月明孤影过,

长门[4]灯暗数声来。

须知胡骑纷纷在,

岂逐春风一一回。

莫厌潇湘[5]少人处,

水多菰米[6]岸莓苔[7]

注释:

[1] 金河:今大黑河,在今内蒙古自治区呼和浩特市南面。这里泛指北方少数民族地区。

[2] 虏:回纥,当时经常侵扰唐朝边疆。

[3] 仙掌:汉武帝在建章宫内立铜人,金铜仙人双手捧露盘,供汉武帝取甘露以求长生。

[4] 长门:宫名,汉武帝陈皇后失宠后所居宫殿。这里用仙掌和长门代指长安的皇宫。

[5] 潇湘:水名,在今湖南省,泛指湖南一带。

[6] 菰(ɡū)米:一种水生植物,嫩茎叫茭白,果实称菰米,都可以食用。

[7] 莓苔:青苔。

To the Early Wild Geese

Du Mu

The foe shoot arrows on frontier in autumn day;

The startled grieved wild geese disperse and fly away.

The statue sees their shadows pass beneath the moon bright;

The lonely palace hears their cries in candlelight.

You know the foe would run their horses therefore long.

Could you go back one and all when spring sings its song?

Don’t say few live on Southern rivers up and down!

With water plants the Southern shores are overgrown.

The poet compares the refugees to the wild geese flying from north to south, for they also fled from the northern frontier occupied the foe to the southern rivershore.

《早雁》是唐代文学家杜牧的诗作。此诗采用比兴象征手法,借雁抒怀,以惊飞四散的鸿雁比喻流离失所的人民,对他们有家而不能归的悲惨处境寄予深切的同情;又借汉言唐,对当权统治者昏庸腐败,不能守边安民进行讽刺。全诗通篇无一语批评执政者,但在秋天就设想次年春天胡骑还在,则朝廷无力安边之意自明。风格婉曲细腻,清丽含蓄,为杜牧诗中别开生面之作。

The poem “To the Early Wild Geese” is a poem by Du Mu, a writer of the Tang Dynasty. The poem uses the symbolism of simile to express his feelings through geese, using the flying geese as a metaphor for the displaced people, expressing his deep sympathy for their miserable situation of having a home but not being able to return. Throughout the poem, there is not a single word of criticism against the ruler, but in the autumn, it is envisioned that the Hu horsemen will still be there in the following spring, so it is clear that the imperial court is unable to protect the border. The poem is a unique work among Du Mu’s poems, with its delicate style and subtlety.

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