Yuán RìNew Year's Day 元日
Wang Anshi on New Year customs: firecrackers, tusu wine, new door charms.
Original Chinese text with pinyin
爆竹声中一岁除
bào zhú shēng zhōng yī suì chú
春风送暖入屠苏
chūn fēng sòng nuǎn rù tú sū
千门万戸曈曈日
qiān mén wàn hù tóng tóng rì
总把新桃换旧符
zǒng bǎ xīn táo huàn jiù fú
Simplified characters; traditional title: 元日.
English translation
Amid the crackle of firecrackers, one year departs;
the spring wind brings warmth into the tusu wine.
On a thousand doors, ten thousand homes, the sun rises bright,
as everyone swaps old peach-wood charms for new.
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
Wang Anshi on New Year customs: firecrackers, tusu wine, new door charms. The scene stays with you.
Background
Wang Anshi on New Year customs: firecrackers, tusu wine, new door charms.
Key words
- 爆竹 bào zhú
- firecrackers
- 屠苏 tú sū
- Tusu wine — New Year medicinal wine
- 桃符 táo fú
- peach-wood charms for the New Year
About the poet: Wang Anshi
Wang Anshi was a chief minister of the Northern Song who pushed through the sweeping "New Policies" reforms. Out of office he retired to Nanjing and wrote compact, finely polished quatrains. He is one of the "Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song."
Lifetime: 1021–1086. Other famous works: Mooring at Guazhou (泊船瓜洲); Plum Blossoms (梅花); Climbing Feilai Peak (登飞来峰); New Year's Day (元日); Apricot Blossom by the North Pond (北陂杏花); Written on the Wall of Mr Huyin (书湖阴先生壁); Early Summer (初夏即事); At Zhongshan (钟山即事); Night Duty (夜直).
More by Wang Anshi
- Climbing Feilai Peak登飞来峰
- Mooring at Guazhou泊船瓜洲
- Plum Blossoms梅花
- Apricot Blossom by the North Pond北陂杏花
- Written on the Wall of Mr Huyin书湖阴先生壁
- Early Summer初夏即事
- At Zhongshan钟山即事
- Night Duty夜直