Tang poem · seven-character regulated verse唐诗 · 七言律诗

qǔ曲jiāng江èr二shǒu首·qí其èr二

dù杜fǔ甫Du Fu · Tang唐

Qujiang, Two Poems: No. 2

cháo朝huí回rì日rì日diǎn典chūn春yī衣

měi每rì日jiāng江tóu头jìn尽zuì醉guī归

jiǔ酒zhài债xún寻cháng常xíng行chù处yǒu有

rén人shēng生qī七shí十gǔ古lái来xī稀

chuān穿huā花jiá蛱dié蝶shēn深shēn深xiàn见

diǎn点shuǐ水qīng蜻tíng蜓kuǎn款kuǎn款fēi飞

chuán传yǔ语fēng风guāng光gòng共liú流zhuǎn转

zàn暂shí时xiāng相shǎng赏mò莫xiāng相wéi违

Underlined words have notes: tap one. The Pinyin button below shows or hides all pinyin. 一 and 不 are marked with the tone you actually say.字下有虚线的，点开有注释。下方的“拼音”按钮可以显示或隐藏全部拼音。“一”“不”标的是实际读出来的变调。

Line by line逐句翻译

朝回日日典春衣Every day after court, I pawn my spring clothes.每天上朝回来，我都把春天的衣服拿去典当。
每日江头尽醉归Every day I come home from the riverside thoroughly drunk.天天在曲江边喝得大醉才回家。
酒债寻常行处有I owe for wine wherever I go; that is nothing unusual.欠下的酒钱，走到哪儿都有，这很平常。
人生七十古来稀But living to seventy has been rare since ancient times.人活到七十岁，自古以来就很少。
穿花蛱蝶深深见Butterflies weave through the flowers, glimpsed deep among them.蝴蝶在花丛深处穿来穿去，时隐时现。
点水蜻蜓款款飞Dragonflies touch the water and fly slowly on.蜻蜓点着水面，慢悠悠地飞着。
传语风光共流转I send a word to the spring: let us stay together a while.我想捎句话给这春光：让我们一起相伴吧。
暂时相赏莫相违Even if we can enjoy each other only briefly, let us not miss it.就算只能短暂地欣赏，也不要错过呀。

Words字词注释

朝回cháo huí: cháo huí: coming back from the morning court.朝回：上朝回来。
典diǎn: diǎn: to pawn, to leave something at a pawnshop in exchange for money.典：典当，把东西押给当铺换钱。
江头jiāng tóu: jiāng tóu: the bank of Qujiang, a famous scenic lake in the southeast of Chang'an.江头：曲江边。曲江是长安城东南的一处风景名胜。
酒债jiǔ zhài: jiǔ zhài: money owed for wine.酒债：喝酒欠下的钱。
寻常xún cháng: xún cháng: ordinary, found everywhere. In old times eight feet was one xún and sixteen feet one cháng, so the word also matches the number seventy in the next line.寻常：平常，到处都是。古代八尺叫“寻”，十六尺叫“常”，所以“寻常”也能和下句的数字“七十”对上。
行处xíng chù: xíng chù: the places one goes.行处：走到的地方。
古来稀gǔ lái xī: gǔ lái xī: rare since ancient times. Later, age seventy came to be called gǔ xī.古来稀：自古以来就很少。后来人们把七十岁叫“古稀”。
蛱蝶jiá dié: jiá dié: butterflies.蛱蝶：蝴蝶。
深深见shēn shēn xiàn: shēn shēn xiàn: now seen, now hidden, deep among the flowers.深深见：在花丛深处时隐时现。
款款kuǎn kuǎn: kuǎn kuǎn: slowly and gently.款款：慢悠悠、轻轻的样子。
传语chuán yǔ: chuán yǔ: to send a message.传语：传话，捎个话。
风光fēng guāng: fēng guāng: the beautiful spring scenery.风光：春天的美景。
共流转gòng liú zhuǎn: gòng liú zhuǎn: to linger and move along together.共流转：一起流连、相伴。
相违xiāng wéi: xiāng wéi: to go against, to miss each other.相违：违背、错过。

How to read it读音

朝cháo: Here it means coming back from court, so it is read cháo.朝回是“上朝回来”，“朝”读 cháo。
尽jìn: Here it means to drink until fully drunk, so it is read jìn.尽醉是“喝个大醉”，“尽”读 jìn。
见xiàn: Here it means to appear, so it is read xiàn.见在这里同“现”，是“出现、露出来”的意思，读 xiàn。

Background创作背景

This poem was written in late spring of 758. Du Fu was in Chang'an as a Reminder of the Left, a minor official whose job was to advise the emperor. The An Lushan Rebellion was still not put down. Because he had spoken up for the minister Fang Guan, the emperor had turned cold to him, and he felt gloomy. Soon after he was sent away to a post in Huazhou. He often went to drink by Qujiang and wrote two poems called "Qujiang". This is the second.

这首诗写于唐肃宗乾元元年（758年）暮春，杜甫在长安做左拾遗，是给皇帝提意见的小官。安史之乱还没有平定，他因为替房琯说话，被皇帝冷落，心里很苦闷。不久他就被贬到华州。他常到曲江边喝酒，写下了两首《曲江》，这是第二首。

The poet作者

Du Fu (712–770) was a great Tang poet, called the Sage of Poetry. Most of his poems are heavy with worry for the nation and its people. This one sounds light, with butterflies and dragonflies. But behind the lightness lies his gloom at a career going nowhere, which he could only drown in wine.

杜甫（712—770），唐代大诗人，被称为“诗圣”。他的诗大多沉重，忧国忧民。这首诗却写得轻快，有蝴蝶有蜻蜓，可在轻快后面，藏着他做官不得志、只能借酒消愁的苦闷。

The mood意境

The opening is surprising. A court official pawns his clothes every day to buy wine and comes home drunk. Why? Lines three and four answer. Owing for wine is normal, but few people live to seventy, so we should enjoy life while we can. The line about seventy being rare became famous, and gǔ xī became a name for age seventy. Lines five and six are famous scenery lines. Butterflies appear and vanish deep among the flowers, and dragonflies dip at the water and drift slowly. The doubled words shēn shēn and kuǎn kuǎn make the picture delicate and lovely. At the end the poet speaks to the spring: stay with me a little while, let us not miss each other. On the surface he loves spring; underneath he is disappointed. The poem feels light and bitter at once.

开头很出人意料：一个朝廷官员，天天当掉衣服去喝酒，喝醉才回家。为什么？三、四句给了答案：欠酒钱是平常事，可人能活到七十岁的很少，不如及时享受。“人生七十古来稀”从此成了名句，“古稀”也成了七十岁的代称。五、六句是写景名句：蝴蝶在花深处时隐时现，蜻蜓点水慢慢飞，一个“深深”，一个“款款”，写得又细又美。最后诗人对春光说：咱们一起待一会儿吧，别错过。表面是爱春，心里是失意，读来又轻又苦。