Home › Poems › Strolling Alone by the River in Search of Flowers
Jiāng Pàn Dú Bù Xún HuāStrolling Alone by the River in Search of Flowers 江畔独步寻花
Du Fu on Huang Si's garden path, full of flowers, butterflies and orioles.
Original Chinese text with pinyin
黄四娘家花满蹊
huáng sì niáng jiā huā mǎn qī
千朶万朶压枝低
qiān duǒ wàn duǒ yā zhī dī
留连戏蝶时时舞
liú lián xì dié shí shí wǔ
自在娇莺恰恰啼
zì zài jiāo yīng qià qià tí
Simplified characters; traditional title: 江畔獨步尋花.
English translation
At Fourth Sister Huang's house, flowers fill the path,
thousands upon thousands, weighing the branches low.
Lingering butterflies dance on and on;
carefree orioles sing just so, so sweetly.
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
Du Fu on Huang Si's garden path, full of flowers, butterflies and orioles. The scene stays with you.
Background
Du Fu on Huang Si's garden path, full of flowers, butterflies and orioles.
Key words
- 黄四娘 huáng sì niáng
- Mistress Huang the Fourth — a neighbor
- 恰恰 qià qià
- just so; right in time (birds calling)
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