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Xiǎo ZhìWinter Solstice Eve 小至
Du Fu at the winter solstice: "the yang returns and spring comes again".
Original Chinese text with pinyin
天时人事日相催
tiān shí rén shì rì xiāng cuī
冬至阳生春又来
dōng zhì yáng shēng chūn yòu lái
岸容待腊将舒柳
àn róng dài là jiāng shū liǔ
山意冲寒欲放梅
shān yì chōng hán yù fàng méi
Simplified characters; traditional title: 小至. 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
The seasons and human affairs press on day by day;
at the winter solstice yang is born, and spring comes again.
The banks wait for the twelfth month to loosen the willows;
the hills brave the cold, about to open the plum.
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
Du Fu at the winter solstice: "the yang returns and spring comes again". The scene stays with you.
Background
Du Fu at the winter solstice: "the yang returns and spring comes again".
Key words
- 天时 tiān shí
- the season; heaven-sent timing
- 人事 rén shì
- human affairs; the business of life
- 日相 rì xiāng
- day by day; facing each other daily
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