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Shān XíngMountain Walk 山行

Du Mu (杜牧, also known as Tu Mu)｜Late Tang｜seven-character quatrain

Du Mu's maple leaves redder than spring flowers.

Original Chinese text with pinyin

远上寒山石径斜
yuǎn shàng hán shān shí jìng xié

白云生处有人家
bái yún shēng chù yǒu rén jiā

停车坐爱枫林晚
tíng chē zuò ài fēng lín wǎn

霜叶红于二月花
shuāng yè hóng yú èr yuè huā

Simplified characters; traditional title: 山行.

Note on the text: Variant: some editions read 白云深处有人家.

English translation

I go up a slanting stony path to the cold hill;

Where rise white clouds, there appear cottages and bowers.

I stop my cab in maple woods to gaze my fill;

Frost-bitten leaves look redder than early spring flowers.

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

Line by line

远上寒山石径斜 · yuǎn shàng hán shān shí jìng xié — I go up a slanting stony path to the cold hill;

白云生处有人家 · bái yún shēng chù yǒu rén jiā — Where rise white clouds, there appear cottages and bowers.

停车坐爱枫林晚 · tíng chē zuò ài fēng lín wǎn — I stop my cab in maple woods to gaze my fill;

霜叶红于二月花 · shuāng yè hóng yú èr yuè huā — Frost-bitten leaves look redder than early spring flowers.

Meaning and imagery

The first half climbs, with the path and the clouds leading up to a hidden village. Then the carriage stops for one reason: the maples at dusk. The final comparison turns the usual sadness of autumn upside down — frosted leaves outshine spring flowers. The poem has been cited ever since as proof that autumn can be as beautiful as spring.

Background

An autumn poem by Du Mu, often dated to his time as an official in the south. Some editions read 白云深处 for 白云生处.

Key words

石径 shí jìng: stone path
坐 zuò: because of, simply for
霜叶 shuāng yè: frost-touched leaves

About the poet: Du Mu

Du Mu, grandson of a chief minister, was an official and a stylish writer of quatrains. With Li Shangyin he is known as one of the "Little Li and Du" of the late Tang, prized for vivid scenes tinged with history and melancholy.

Lifetime: 803–852. Other famous works: Written at the Wujiang Pavilion (题乌江亭); Passing Huaqing Palace (过华清宫); Qingming (清明); Spring in Jiangnan (江南春); Mooring on the Qinhuai River (泊秦淮); Mountain Walk (山行); Autumn View in Chang'an (长安秋望); For Han Chuo in Yangzhou (寄扬州韩绰判官); The Pond Behind Qi'an (齐安郡后池绝句); Autumn Evening (秋夕).