This poem was written under siege. It is late in 756. The Tang government had failed in an attempt to recapture Chang'an from the An Lushan rebels. Du Fu, whom the rebels are holding prisoner there, is now faced with the possibility that he might never get out.
Facing the Snow
By Du Fu
Translated by A.Z. Foreman
Above the battlefield many a fresh ghost wails
Sunk in his sorrow one lone old man chants
Toward the twilight clouds in upheaval founder
In blowback winds driven snowblasts dance
The ladle lies useless green of rice-wine is drained
The coal stove remains I imagine red fire there
No news gets through from anywhere this winter
In sorrow I sit scrawling words in thin air
The Original:
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Facing the Snow
By Du Fu
Translated by A.Z. Foreman
Above the battlefield many a fresh ghost wails
Sunk in his sorrow one lone old man chants
Toward the twilight clouds in upheaval founder
In blowback winds driven snowblasts dance
The ladle lies useless green of rice-wine is drained
The coal stove remains I imagine red fire there
No news gets through from anywhere this winter
In sorrow I sit scrawling words in thin air
The Original:
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??
?????,
??????
?????,
??????
?????,
??????
?????,
??????
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