Going Back to Chengdu Caotong, On the Way First Write and Post This Letter to Sir Yan Zhenggong
将 赴 成 都 草 堂 途 中 有 作 ， 先 寄 严 郑 公 ： 五 首
常 苦 沙 崩 损 药 栏
也 从 江 槛 落 风 湍。
新 松 恨 不 高 千 尺
恶 竹 应 须 斩 万 竿！
生 理 只 凭 黄 阁 老
衰 颜 欲 付 紫 金 丹。
三 年 奔 走 空 皮 骨
信 有 人 间 行 路 难。
Jiang Fu Cheng Du Cao Tang Tu Zhong You Zuo, Xian Ji Yan Zheng Gong: Wu Shou
Chang ku sha beng sun yao lan
Ye cong jiang kan luo feng tuan.
Xin song hen bu gao qian chi
Wu zhu ying xu zhan wan gan!
Sheng li zhi ping huang ge lao
Shuai yan yu fu zi jin dan.
San nian ben zou kong pi gu
Xin you ren jian xing lu nan.
Going Back to Chengdu Caotong, On the Way First Write and Post This Letter to Sir Yan Zhenggong
Often suffer from sand erosion and the breaking up of my fences and herb garden
Built small levees to direct the wind-blown river rapids away from our place.
New pine trees are not growing fast enough
Local bamboo chopped up for poles quickly resprout all around us!
Your life experience sequences of survival relied upon Daoist immorality pills
My aging appearance could use some of this special medicine.
After walking fast for the last three years, I am skin and bones
Down here on earth, now trust that human travel roads are very difficult.
Notes:
Caotang: This was Du Fu’s name for his house and land next to a small river outside the city of Chengdu, Sichuan Province.
Yan Zhenggong: Full name for Sir Yan, who was a general of the army in this part of China.