English Rendering
Even in this good reign, how can I serve?
The lone cloud rather, the Buddhist peace....
Once more, before crossing river and sea,
I face the great Emperor's mountain-tomb.
I Climb to the Leyou Tombs Before Leaving for Wuxing
- Poetry of Du Mu
《将赴吴兴登乐游原一绝》
Original Text (中文原文)
清时有味是无能，闲爱孤云静爱僧。
欲把一麾江海去，乐游原上望昭陵。
Analysis & Context
Seven-character-quatrain
This poem was written in 850 AD during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. At the time, Du Mu served as a low-ranking official in the Ministry of Personnel, frustrated by his inability to realize his ambitions. Seeking a change, he requested a transfer and prepared to take up a post as the governor of Huzhou. Before leaving the capital, he ascended Leyou Plateau and gazed toward the Zhaoling Mausoleum of Emperor Taizong, using the scenery to express his concerns about the state of the nation and his own unfulfilled aspirations.
Reader's Companion
The Essence of the Verse
Classical Chinese poetry thrives on Concision and Ambiguity. Without tense or number, the words create a timeless space where the reader becomes the co-creator of the poem's meaning.
Reading Between the Lines
Look for Contrasts: light and shadow, movement and stillness. Don't just translate the words; feel the Yijing (artistic conception) that lingers long after the last character.
- Lament for Spring II
- At Chan-zhì Temple, Yangzhou
- The Spring Palace II
- The Spring Palace I
- Temple of the Heroine
- On the Black River Pavilion
- The Summit Temple
- <Prelude to Water Melody> Sent to Ziyou on Mid-autumn Festival
- Invitation to Wine
- Question and Answer in the Mountains
- Cold sheet
- Coming Home ( Returning Home )
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