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

yǒng咏huái怀gǔ古jì迹wǔ五shǒu首·qí其èr二

dù杜fǔ甫Du Fu · Tang唐

Thoughts on Ancient Sites, No. 2 of Five

yáo摇luò落shēn深zhī知sòng宋yù玉bēi悲

fēng风liú流rú儒yǎ雅yì亦wú吾shī师

chàng怅wàng望qiān千qiū秋yì一sǎ洒lèi泪

xiāo萧tiáo条yì异dài代bù不tóng同shí时

jiāng江shān山gù故zhái宅kōng空wén文zǎo藻

yún云yǔ雨huāng荒tái台qǐ岂mèng梦sī思

zuì最shì是chǔ楚gōng宫jù俱mǐn泯miè灭

zhōu舟rén人zhǐ指diǎn点dào到jīn今yí疑

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

摇落深知宋玉悲Seeing the leaves shaken down, I deeply understand Song Yu's sorrow;看到草木凋零，我深深懂得了宋玉的悲伤，
风流儒雅亦吾师gifted, learned and refined, he is my teacher too.他文采出众、学问高雅，也是我的老师。
怅望千秋一洒泪Gazing back a thousand years with a heavy heart, I shed tears for him;我惆怅地望着千年以前，为他洒下眼泪，
萧条异代不同时we are both lonely and unlucky, only born in different ages.我们一样冷落失意，只可惜生在不同的时代。
江山故宅空文藻The rivers and hills remain, and so does his old home, but all that is left are his fine writings;江山依旧，他的故居还在，可留下的只有美丽的文章，
云雨荒台岂梦思and that ruined terrace of the cloud and rain goddess, was it really only about a dream?那座传说神女化作云雨的荒台，难道写的只是一场梦？
最是楚宫俱泯灭Saddest of all, the palaces of Chu have all vanished,最可叹的是楚王的宫殿全都消失了，
舟人指点到今疑and the boatmen point here and there, still unsure to this day where they stood.船夫指指点点，到今天也说不清它们在哪儿。

Words字词注释

摇落yáo luò: yáo luò: plants withering, leaves shaken down by the wind. Song Yu wrote of plants shaken bare and fading in his poem Nine Changes.摇落：草木凋零，叶子被风吹落。宋玉在《九辩》里写过“草木摇落而变衰”。
宋玉sòng yù: Sòng Yù: a poet of the state of Chu in the Warring States period, said to be a student of Qu Yuan. He wrote Nine Changes, a lament on autumn.宋玉：战国时楚国的辞赋家，据说是屈原的学生，写过悲叹秋天的《九辩》。
悲bēi: bēi: sorrow; here Song Yu's sadness at autumn, and his pain at not being given a chance to serve.悲：悲伤。这里指宋玉悲秋的心情，也指他不得志的苦闷。
风流儒雅fēng liú rú yǎ: fēng liú rú yǎ: gifted in writing, learned, and refined in manner.风流儒雅：有文采，有学问，风度高雅。
亦吾师yì wú shī: yì wú shī: is also my teacher.亦吾师：也是我的老师。
怅望chàng wàng: chàng wàng: to gaze into the distance with a heavy heart.怅望：心里失落地远远望着。
千秋qiān qiū: qiān qiū: a thousand autumns, a very long time ago.千秋：千年，指很久以前。
萧条xiāo tiáo: xiāo tiáo: lonely and bleak; here it means both men met the same bad luck in life.萧条：冷落寂寞，这里指两人都一样不得志。
异代yì dài: yì dài: different ages.异代：不同的朝代。
故宅gù zhái: gù zhái: a former home. There were said to be old homes of Song Yu at Guizhou, today's Zigui in Hubei, and at Jiangling.故宅：以前住过的房子。归州（今湖北秭归）和江陵都有传说中的宋玉故宅。
空文藻kōng wén zǎo: kōng wén zǎo: only his beautiful writings are left. Wén zǎo means elegant writing.空文藻：只留下美丽的文章。文藻，有文采的作品。
云雨荒台yún yǔ huāng tái: yún yǔ huāng tái: in Song Yu's Gaotang Rhapsody, a Chu king dreams of the goddess of Mount Wu, who says she is clouds in the morning and rain in the evening. The ruined terrace is the king's terrace from that story, now in ruins.云雨荒台：宋玉在《高唐赋》里写楚王梦见巫山神女，神女说自己“朝为行云，暮为行雨”。荒台，指传说中楚王的阳台，已经荒废了。
岂梦思qǐ mèng sī: qǐ mèng sī: was it only about a dream? The idea is that Song Yu wrote about the goddess as a way to give advice to the king.岂梦思：难道只是写梦吗？意思是宋玉写神女，其实是想劝告楚王。
楚宫chǔ gōng: chǔ gōng: the palaces of the Chu kings.楚宫：楚王的宫殿。
俱泯灭jù mǐn miè: jù mǐn miè: have all vanished.俱泯灭：全都消失了。
舟人zhōu rén: zhōu rén: boatmen.舟人：船夫。
指点zhǐ diǎn: zhǐ diǎn: to point out and explain.指点：用手指着给人看、讲给人听。
疑yí: yí: unsure, doubtful.疑：拿不准，说不清。

Background创作背景

This set of poems is usually dated to 766, when Du Fu was living in Kuizhou. He visited old sites along the Yangtze and used people of the past to speak about his own feelings. The five poems are about Yu Xin, Song Yu, Wang Zhaojun, Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang. This second one is about the old home said to be Song Yu's. Song Yu was a gifted writer of the state of Chu in the Warring States period, but he was never given real power. Du Fu, wandering in his last years, felt the same pain.

这组诗一般认为是唐代宗大历元年（766）杜甫住在夔州时写的。他沿着长江一带寻访古迹，借古人抒发自己的心事。五首分别写庾信、宋玉、王昭君、刘备和诸葛亮。这是第二首，写的是传说中的宋玉故宅。宋玉是战国时楚国的文人，很有才华，却一直不受重用。杜甫晚年漂泊，也有同样的苦闷。

The poet作者

Du Fu (712–770) was a great Tang poet, called the Sage of Poetry. He longed to serve his country but never got the chance, and in his last years he drifted with his family around Sichuan and Hubei. In Song Yu he saw himself: both were gifted, and neither was given a chance to use those gifts.

杜甫（712—770），唐代大诗人，被称为“诗圣”。他一心想为国家出力，却一生不得志，晚年带着家人在四川、湖北一带漂泊。他在宋玉身上看到了自己：都有才华，都没有机会施展。

The mood意境

This poem is one poet speaking from the heart to another. It opens by saying he deeply understands Song Yu's sorrow: seeing autumn leaves fall, Du Fu suddenly feels the sadness Song Yu felt a thousand years before, and calls him his teacher. Lines three and four are the most moving. I cry for you across a thousand years; we are equally lonely and unlucky, only born in different ages. The last four lines turn to what he sees. The old home is still there, but the man is gone, and only his writing is left. The goddess's ruined terrace is still there too. Song Yu wrote about it to give the king advice, but later people took it as just a lovely dream. In the end even the Chu palaces are gone, and the boatmen point here and there without knowing where they stood. The kings' palaces vanished, but the poet's writing lasted. Here we can feel Du Fu's sigh, and a little comfort as well.

这首诗是一个诗人对另一个诗人的知心话。开头就说“深知宋玉悲”：秋天草木凋零，杜甫一下子读懂了一千年前宋玉的悲伤，还把他当作自己的老师。第三、四句最感人：我隔着千年为你流泪，我们一样孤单失意，只是生在不同的时代。后四句写眼前：故宅还在，人已不在，只剩文章；神女的荒台还在，宋玉写它是为了劝告君王，后人却只当成一个美梦。最后，连楚王的宫殿都没了，船夫指来指去也说不清在哪里。帝王的宫殿消失了，诗人的文章却留了下来。读到这里，可以感到杜甫的叹息，也有一点安慰。