Du Mu: Jiangnan Springtime: Four-Line Poem

 

[updated October 2022]

 

Jiangnan Springtime: Four-Line Poem

 

江 南 春: 绝 句
千 里 莺 啼 绿 映 红
水 忖 山 郭 酒 旗 风
南 朝 四 百 八 十 寺
多 少 楼 台 烟 雨 中。
Jiang Nan Chun Jue Ju

Qian li ying ti lu ying hong
Shui cun shan guo jiu qi feng.
Nan zhao si bai ba shi si
Duo shao lou tai yan yu zhong.

 

Jiangnan Springtime: Four-Line Poem

For hundreds of miles, orioles chirping with reflected green leaves and red flowers
River villages and mountains, outside the city walls breezes blowing through wineshop banners.
To the south, four hundred and eighty temples at dawn
Wonder how many still stare from the balconies among the mists and rain.

 

Notes:

Jiangnan: Literally means south of the river.  The river is the Changjiang, and the area is mostly the modern day province of Zhejiang.