#du fu

Western gay dogs vs Eastern gay dogs.

I decided to write a little poem in the style of Tu Fu, aka Du Fu (712-770), the great poet of T'ang Dynasty China. I've been reading his work in the superb translations of David Hinton, and it's been making me wish I could read the original -- even in the less-than-ideal medium of English, Tu's work is stunning in its timelessness. His laments of social unrest, militarism run amok, and personal alienation might have been written yesterday rather than thirteen centuries ago. Anyway, I hope you like this. Have a good Sunday, everyone.

TEXT:

HOMAGE TO TU FU

Aching limbs propped on a goosefoot cane, I return home at dusk, the sky afire.

Cranes have no farther south to fly: They wade with care in icy waters.

When will it end, this time of war? Letters vanish on dusty roads--

"落月满屋梁，犹疑照颜色。水深波浪阔，无使蛟龙得。"

The waters are deep, the waves wide; don't let the river gods take you

It’s criminal he’s only there for like 2 minutes because whoever animated him gave him all the whimsy, like, you can tell the team LOVED him

And he keeps licking his tooth gap and I was like AAAA he’s just a kiddddd I’ve never thought about it but that’s LITERALLY what I did all the time when I lost a tooth. I love the attention to detail sm

He calls everyone by their given name instead of gege 哥哥 (brother) or jiejie 姐姐 (sister). He just doesn’t address anyone by their status. He’s basically already their equals even though he’s younger than his contemporaries. Oh Du Fu you’re going to go so far.

Him and Gao Shi are so funny also. Gao Shi tries to play big brother figure but Du Fu wants to see a scandal 😭

And also the end of the movie has my fave meta joke ever. THEY ACKNOWLEDGE HE WASNT IN THE MOVIE ENOUGH I CACKLED

Clouds – Mountains (August 2021), Salzkammergut/Austria, photo by Kai Dlugosch

* * * *

The nation is shattered Mountains and rivers remain...

Section 1 Poem 9 of 300 Tang Poems

Translated by Witter Bunner (1881-1968) and Kiang Kang-hu (1883-1954)

It is almost as hard for friends to meet

As for the morning and evening stars.

Tonight then is a rare event,

Joining, in the candlelight,

Two men who were young not long ago

But now are turning grey at the temples.

...To find that half our friends are dead

Shocks us, burns our hearts with grief.

We little guessed it would be twenty years

Before I could visit you again.

When I went away, you were still unmarried;

But now these boys and girls in a row

Are very kind to their father's old friend.

They ask me where I have been on my journey;

And then, when we have talked awhile,

They bring and show me wines and dishes,

Spring chives cut in the night-rain

And brown rice cooked freshly a special way.

...My host proclaims it a festival,

He urges me to drink ten cups --

But what ten cups could make me as drunk

As I always am with your love in my heart?

...Tomorrow the mountains will separate us;

After tomorrow-who can say?

人生不相見，動如參與商。

今夕復何夕，共此燈燭光。

少壯能幾時，鬢發各已蒼。

訪舊半為鬼，驚呼熱中腸。

焉知二十載，重上君子堂。

昔別君未婚，兒女忽成行。

怡然敬父執，問我來何方。

問答乃未已，驅兒羅酒漿。

夜雨翦春韭，新炊間黃粱。

主稱會面難，一舉累十覲。

十覷亦不醉，感子故意長。