Jiāng CūnRiver Village 江村
Du Fu on a river village in summer: swallows come and go, gulls stay close.
Original Chinese text with pinyin
清江一曲抱村流
qīng jiāng yī qū bào cūn liú
长夏江村事事幽
cháng xià jiāng cūn shì shì yōu
自去自来堂上燕
zì qù zì lái táng shàng yàn
相亲相近水中鸥
xiāng qīn xiāng jìn shuǐ zhōng ōu
Simplified characters; traditional title: 江村. This is a long poem; only the best-known lines are shown, and “……” marks omitted passages.
Note on the text: This page presents a well-known excerpt; the full poem is longer in the traditional corpus.
English translation
A bend of the clear river hugs the village as it flows;
in the long summer, everything in the river village is quiet.
The swallows on the beams come and go as they please;
the gulls on the water stay close and friendly.
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
Du Fu on a river village in summer: swallows come and go, gulls stay close. The scene stays with you.
Background
Du Fu on a river village in summer: swallows come and go, gulls stay close.
Key words
- 清江 qīng jiāng
- a clear river
- 一曲 yī qū
- a single song or tune
- 抱村 bào cūn
- embracing the village (of clouds or mist)
About the poet: Du Fu
Du Fu (also romanized Tu Fu) lived through the An Lushan Rebellion, which tore apart the Tang empire and his own family life. His precise, compassionate poems record war, poverty and loyalty, earning him the titles "Sage of Poetry" and "poet-historian."
Lifetime: 712–770. Other famous works: Happy Rain on a Spring Night (春夜喜雨); The Prime Minister of Shu (蜀相); The Officer at Shihao Village (石壕吏); Thoughts While Traveling at Night (旅夜书怀); Qujiang (曲江); Meeting Li Guinian in Jiangnan (江南逢李龟年); Ballad of the Army Carts (兵车行); Moonlit Night (月夜); Spring View (春望); Climbing High (登高); Quatrain: Two Orioles (绝句·两个黄鹂鸣翠柳); On Yueyang Tower (登岳阳楼); My Thatched Hut Torn by the Autumn Wind (茅屋为秋风所破歌); Gazing at Mount Tai (望岳); A Guest Arrives (客至); Strolling by the River V (江畔独步寻花 其五); Strolling Alone by the River in Search of Flowers (江畔独步寻花); River Village (江村); Winter Solstice Eve (小至); Thinking of Li Bai on a Spring Day (春日忆李白); Easing the Heart by the Water Rail (水槛遣心); Quatrain (绝句); Casual Quatrain (绝句漫兴); For General Hua (赠花卿).
More by Du Fu
- Spring View春望
- Quatrain (The River Blue)绝句
- Climbing High登高
- On Yueyang Tower登岳阳楼
- Moonlit Night月夜
- Happy Rain on a Spring Night春夜喜雨
- Meeting Li Guinian in Jiangnan江南逢李龟年
- Qujiang曲江