bó泊qín秦huái淮

Du Mu wrote this poem when he passed Jinling, today's Nanjing, by boat at night. The exact year is not known. Jinling had been the capital of several southern dynasties, and the Chen dynasty fell there. By Du Mu's time the Tang was in decline, yet many rich and powerful people cared only about feasting and fun. When Du Mu heard a singing girl sing the song of a fallen country, he felt deep sorrow and wrote this poem.

这首诗是杜牧夜里坐船经过金陵（今江苏南京）时写的，具体年份不清楚。金陵在南朝时做过好几个朝代的都城，陈朝就亡在这里。到了杜牧的时代，唐朝已经走下坡路，可是很多有钱有权的人还是只顾吃喝玩乐。杜牧听到歌女唱着亡国的歌，心里很难过，写下了这首诗。

Du Mu (803–852) was a poet of the late Tang, from the capital area, today's Xi'an. He cared about the affairs of the state and read a great deal of history. He liked to use events of the past to speak about the present. Such poems are called poems on history, and he was a master of them, as in "Red Cliff" and this poem.

杜牧（803—852），唐朝后期的诗人，字牧之，京兆万年（今陕西西安）人。他关心国家大事，读了很多历史书，喜欢借古代的事来说眼前的事。这类诗叫“咏史诗”，他写得特别好，比如《赤壁》《泊秦淮》。

The first line is a hazy picture: mist covers the water, moonlight covers the sand. The word lǒng, to cover, appears twice and makes the whole night grey and chilly. The second line says the poet moors next to the wine houses, a lively place. The last two lines are the heart of the poem. A singing girl is still singing "Flowers in the Back Court", a song that reminds people of a fallen kingdom. On the surface the poet blames the girl. But she only sings what the guests ask for. The ones who truly "do not understand the grief" are the officials and rich men listening and having fun. The poet worries: if things go on like this, will the Tang fall just like the Chen? The scene is cold, and the heart is heavy.

第一句是一幅朦胧的画：雾气罩着河水，月光罩着沙滩，两个“笼”字让整个夜晚都灰蒙蒙、冷清清的。第二句说诗人把船停在酒楼旁边，这里本来很热闹。第三、四句是全诗的重点。歌女还在唱《玉树后庭花》，那是一首让人想起亡国的歌。表面上是说歌女不懂事，其实歌女只是唱客人点的歌，真正“不知亡国恨”的，是那些听歌享乐的达官贵人。诗人担心：再这样下去，唐朝会不会也像陈朝一样？景是冷的，心是沉的。