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A Scene in Spring
Translation by Paul Harris
The state is torn apart, only the mountains and rivers remain.
Weeds and trees run rampant in the city this spring.
Do the flowers sense the times, that they, like me, should weep?
Do the birds feel the emptiness, they seem so fearful?
For three months on end the garrison beacons have glimmered at night.
A letter from home would be worth a heap of gold to me,
An old man waiting, whose remaining white hairs
Will soon become too sparse even to hold a hat pin.
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- About the translation:
- » Read translator's notes
- Poet:
- Du Fu
- Translator:
- Paul Harris
- Original language:
- Chinese
- Issue:
- Series 3 No.7 - Love and War
About the author
.jpg "Du Fu")
Original poet
Du Fu
Du Fu (712-770, also known as Tu Fu) wrote during what is usually regarded as the golden age of Chinese poetry, the Tang Dynas...
» Read moreTranslator
Paul Harris
Paul Harris learnt Latin and Greek at Westminster School under the inspirational tuition of Theo Zinn. He subsequently changed... » Read moreComment
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