杜甫
七言绝句
Character Explanations
Click on a character in the poem to display its explanation here.
两
“two.” 两个 “two (birds).”
个
“unit, classifier.” 两个 “two.”
黄
“yellow.” 黄鹂 “the yellow oriole.”
鹂
“oriole.” 黄鹂 “the oriole,” a bird with a melodious song.
鸣
“to sing, to cry (animal).” 鸣翠柳 “sing in the willows.”
翠
“emerald green.” 翠柳 “the emerald willows.”
柳
“willow.” 翠柳 “the verdant willows.”
一
“one.” 一行 “a row.”
行
“row, line” (pronounced háng). 一行白鹭 “a line of egrets.”
白
“white.” 白鹭 “the white egret.”
鹭
“egret, white heron.” 白鹭 “the egrets.”
上
“to ascend.” 上青天 “rise to the blue sky.”
青
“blue, azure.” 青天 “the blue sky.”
天
“sky.” 青天 “the azure sky.”
窗
“window.” 窗含 “the window frames.”
含
“to contain, to frame (a view).” The window frames the landscape.
西
“west.” 西岭 “the Western Mountains.”
岭
“ridge, mountain.” 西岭 “the western range.”
千
“thousand.” 千秋 “thousand autumns,” centuries.
秋
“autumn; year.” 千秋雪 “the snows of a thousand years.”
雪
“snow.” 千秋雪 “eternal snows.”
门
“gate.” 门泊 “by the gate, boats moor.”
泊
“to moor, to anchor” (pronounced bó). 门泊 “moored at the gate.”
东
“east.” 东吴 “the land of Wu, in the east.”
吴
“Wu (ancient kingdom in the southeast).” 东吴 “the region of Wu.”
万
“ten thousand.” 万里 “ten thousand li,” a very long journey.
里
“li (unit of distance).” 万里船 “boats from afar.”
船
“boat.” 万里船 “boats on a long voyage.”
Literal Translation
Two yellow-billed thrushes sing in the emerald willows;
A line of white egrets soars into the blue sky.
The window frames the thousand-year snows of the Western Mountains;
By the gate, boats from Wu anchor, having traveled ten thousand li.
Historical and Biographical Context
This 绝句 (), or “quatrain,” was composed in Chengdu during a period of relative peace; it unfolds, in four lines, a tableau of pictorial perfection.
Literary Analysis
Structure and Form
A seven-character quatrain entirely built on parallelism: each line is a tableau, and the lines respond to each other in pairs (colors, numbers, near/far).
Imagery and Symbolism
A burst of colors (yellow, green, white, blue) followed by a spatial and temporal expansion: from snows “of a thousand autumns” to boats that have traveled “ten thousand li.”
Movement and Gesture
The gaze ascends (the egrets toward the sky) and then extends far through the window and the gate, which frame the world like two paintings.
Language and Tone
Precision and balance; the tone is bright and serene, though the mention of distant boats hints at the traveler’s nostalgia for home.
Main Themes
The Beauty of the Moment
The poem captures a moment of bright spring in all its sensory freshness.
Space and Time
From a close-up of two birds to millennial snows, the poem embraces vastness.
Subtle Nostalgia
The boats from afar evoke a longing for return, contrasting with the serenity of the scene.
