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

sù宿fǔ府

dù杜fǔ甫Du Fu · Tang唐

A Night at Headquarters

qīng清qiū秋mù幕fǔ府jǐng井wú梧hán寒

dú独sù宿jiāng江chéng城là蜡jù炬cán残

yǒng永yè夜jiǎo角shēng声bēi悲zì自yǔ语

zhōng中tiān天yuè月sè色hǎo好shuí谁kàn看

fēng风chén尘rěn荏rǎn苒yīn音shū书jué绝

guān关sài塞xiāo萧tiáo条xíng行lù路nán难

yǐ已rěn忍líng伶pīng俜shí十nián年shì事

qiǎng强yí移qī栖xī息yì一zhī枝ān安

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

清秋幕府井梧寒In clear autumn, the parasol tree by the well at headquarters feels cold.清冷的秋天，幕府井边的梧桐带着寒意，
独宿江城蜡炬残Alone I spend the night in the river city, and the candle burns low.我独自住在江城，蜡烛快要烧完了。
永夜角声悲自语All night the horn sounds, sad as if talking to itself.长夜里号角声声，悲凉得像在自言自语；
中天月色好谁看The moon in the middle of the sky is lovely, but who is there to look?天空正中的月色这么好，又有谁来看呢？
风尘荏苒音书绝War goes on and time slips by, and letters no longer come.战乱中时光流逝，亲友的音信断绝了；
关塞萧条行路难The passes are bleak and empty, and the road home is hard.关塞冷落荒凉，回乡的路太难走。
已忍伶俜十年事I have already borne ten years of lonely wandering,十年来孤单漂泊的苦，我都已经忍过来了，
强移栖息一枝安and now, half against my will, I have come here, like a bird that rests on a single branch.如今勉强来到这里，像鸟儿找一根树枝暂且安身。

Words字词注释

清秋qīng qiū: qīng qiū: clear, crisp autumn.清秋：天气清爽的秋天。
幕府mù fǔ: mù fǔ: a general's headquarters. Here, the office of Yan Wu, military governor of the Sichuan region.幕府：将军办公的地方。这里指剑南节度使严武的官署。
井梧jǐng wú: jǐng wú: the parasol tree beside the well.井梧：井边的梧桐树。
江城jiāng chéng: jiāng chéng: the river city, meaning Chengdu.江城：江边的城，指成都。
蜡炬残là jù cán: là jù cán: the candle has almost burned down.蜡炬残：蜡烛快要烧完了。
永夜yǒng yè: yǒng yè: the long night, all night through.永夜：长夜，整整一夜。
角声jiǎo shēng: jiǎo shēng: the sound of the army horn.角声：军中号角的声音。
悲自语bēi zì yǔ: bēi zì yǔ: the sad horn seems to be talking to itself.悲自语：悲凉的号角声像在自言自语。
中天zhōng tiān: zhōng tiān: the middle of the sky.中天：天空正中。
好谁看hǎo shuí kàn: hǎo shuí kàn: so lovely, but who is there to see it?好谁看：这么好，有谁来看呢？
风尘fēng chén: fēng chén: war, the wind and dust of fighting.风尘：战乱。
荏苒rěn rǎn: rěn rǎn: time slipping by little by little.荏苒：时间一点点过去。
音书绝yīn shū jué: yīn shū jué: letters from family and friends have stopped coming.音书绝：亲友的书信断了。
关塞guān sài: guān sài: mountain passes and frontier posts, here the passes on the road home.关塞：关口和边塞，这里指回家的路上要经过的关口。
萧条xiāo tiáo: xiāo tiáo: bleak and empty.萧条：冷落荒凉。
忍rěn: rěn: to bear, to endure.忍：忍受。
伶俜líng pīng: líng pīng: lonely and drifting.伶俜：孤单漂泊的样子。
十年事shí nián shì: shí nián shì: the roughly ten years from the start of the An Lushan rebellion to this time.十年事：从安史之乱开始到这时，大约十年。
强移qiǎng yí: qiǎng yí: to move here reluctantly. Qiǎng means against one's will.强移：勉强搬来。强，勉强。
栖息一枝安qī xī yì zhī ān: qī xī yī zhī ān: like a small bird resting on just one branch. It comes from the old book Zhuangzi: a little bird nesting in a deep forest needs only one branch.栖息一枝安：像鸟儿只在一根树枝上暂且安身。出自《庄子》：小鸟在深林里做窝，不过占一根树枝。

How to read it读音

看kàn: Read kàn today. In old times it was a level-tone word here, rhyming with hán, cán, nán and ān; some read it kān.现在读 kàn。古代这里读平声，和“寒、残、难、安”押韵，今音可读 kān。
强qiǎng: Meaning reluctantly, read qiǎng.“勉强”的意思，读 qiǎng。
宿sù: Meaning to stay the night, read sù.住宿、过夜，读 sù。

Background创作背景

In 764, Du Fu's old friend Yan Wu became military governor of the Sichuan region. He made Du Fu an adviser at his headquarters, so Du Fu went to work there in Chengdu. The work was busy, the rules were strict, and he did not get along well with some colleagues. He often had to stay overnight at headquarters, and he was unhappy. One autumn night, alone there, he wrote this poem.

唐代宗广德二年（764年），杜甫的老朋友严武担任剑南节度使，推荐杜甫做他幕府里的参谋，杜甫就在成都的幕府里工作。幕府事情多，规矩严，同事之间也不太融洽，杜甫常常住在府里，心情很不好。一个秋夜，他独自住在幕府，写下了这首诗。

The poet作者

Du Fu (712–770) was a great Tang poet, called the Sage of Poetry. After the An Lushan rebellion he wandered with his family from Shaanxi and Gansu all the way to Sichuan. He lived in Chengdu for several years with help from friends. He stayed at Yan Wu's headquarters for only some months before resigning and going back to his thatched cottage.

杜甫（712—770），唐代大诗人，被称为“诗圣”。安史之乱以后，他带着家人四处漂泊，从陕西、甘肃一路到了四川。他在成都住了好几年，靠朋友帮助生活。在严武幕府只待了几个月，他就辞职回到草堂。

The mood意境

The first two lines bring us into a cold, lonely autumn night: the parasol tree by the well is chilly, and a man sits alone by a candle that is nearly gone. The third and fourth lines are famous. Their rhythm is unusual and reads like this: "all night the horn, so sad, talks to itself; in mid-sky the moon, so lovely, but who looks?" The horn is sad, yet can only talk to itself. The moon is lovely, yet no one shares it. The sad and the lovely both end in loneliness. The last four lines give the reasons. Years of war, no letters from family, a hard road home. He has endured ten years of wandering, and now, like a small bird, he can only rest on one branch for a while. His tone is calm, but his heart is full of pain.

开头两句就把人带进一个冷清的秋夜：井边梧桐带着寒气，一个人守着快烧完的蜡烛。第三、四句是名句，句式很特别，要这样读：“永夜角声——悲——自语，中天月色——好——谁看”。号角声很悲，却只能自己对自己说；月色很好，却没人一起看。一个“悲”，一个“好”，都落到孤独上。后四句说出原因：打仗多年，家人音信不通，回乡的路又难走，十年漂泊都熬过来了，如今只好像小鸟一样，暂时在这里找一根树枝落脚。语气平静，心里却很苦。