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Jiāng Nán Féng Lǐ Guī NiánMeeting Li Guinian in Jiangnan 江南逢李龟年

Du Fu (杜甫, also known as Tu Fu, Du Zimei)｜High Tang｜seven-character quatrain

Du Fu meets a famous court singer after the empire's fall.

Original Chinese text with pinyin

岐王宅里寻常见
qí wáng zhái lǐ xún cháng jiàn

崔九堂前几度闻
cuī jiǔ táng qián jǐ dù wén

正是江南好风景
zhèng shì jiāng nán hǎo fēng jǐng

落花时节又逢君
luò huā shí jié yòu féng jūn

Simplified characters; traditional title: 江南逢李龜年.

English translation

I often saw you in Prince Qi's mansion;

I heard you sing in Lord Cui's hall more than once.

Now the Southland is at its loveliest season,

And in the time of falling flowers I meet you again.

Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.

Line by line

岐王宅里寻常见 · qí wáng zhái lǐ xún cháng jiàn — I often saw you in Prince Qi's mansion;

崔九堂前几度闻 · cuī jiǔ táng qián jǐ dù wén — I heard you sing in Lord Cui's hall more than once.

正是江南好风景 · zhèng shì jiāng nán hǎo fēng jǐng — Now the Southland is at its loveliest season,

落花时节又逢君 · luò huā shí jié yòu féng jūn — And in the time of falling flowers I meet you again.

Meaning and imagery

On the surface it is a pleasant note about meeting an old acquaintance in spring. Underneath lies an entire era: the glittering salons of the 720s, the rebellion that destroyed them, and two aging men in exile. "The season of falling flowers" is the key — it describes both late spring and the decline of the Tang and of the two men themselves. Du Fu says almost nothing, and the poem says everything.

Background

Written in 770, the last year of Du Fu's life, in Tanzhou (Changsha). Li Guinian had been the most famous musician at Emperor Xuanzong's court; both men were now refugees in the south.

Key words

岐王 Qí Wáng: Prince Qi, the emperor's brother
寻常 xún cháng: often, ordinarily
落花时节 luò huā shí jié: the season of falling flowers

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).