登岳阳楼 Ascending the Tower of Yueyang
昔闻洞庭水，今上岳阳楼。
xī wén dòng tíng shuǐ ， jīn shàng yuè yáng lóu 。
In bygone days, I heard of Dongting's tide, Now, atop Yueyang Tower, I do abide.
吴楚东南坼，乾坤日夜浮。
wú chǔ dōng nán chè ， qián kūn rì yè fú 。
The realms of Wu and Chu, in the southeast they lie, The cosmic dance unfolds, beneath the sun and sky.
亲朋无一字，老病有孤舟。
qīn péng wú yī zì ， lǎo bìng yǒu gū zhōu 。
No words from kin and friends, my heart does ache, In solitude I sail, with age and illness at stake.
戎马关山北，凭轩涕泗流。
róng mǎ guān shān běi ， píng xuān tì sì liú 。
To the north, where warriors guard the mountain pass, Upon this balcony, tears and grief amass.
Background
In the year 767 AD (唐代宗大历二年), at the age of fifty-seven, the esteemed poet Du Fu found himself in a dire and challenging situation, with only two years remaining until the end of his life. He endured hardships and sufferings, burdened by old age and physical ailments, including pulmonary illness and rheumatism. His left arm grew feeble, and his right ear became deaf, relying on medicinal potions to sustain his existence.
In the following year, the third year of Da Li (768 AD), Du Fu departed from Kuizhou (present-day Fengjie, Chongqing) and embarked on a journey along the river, passing through Jiangling and Gong'an, drifting aimlessly. Finally, he arrived at Yueyang (now in Hunan). As he ascended the long-awaited Yueyang Tower, he leaned against the railings and gazed into the distance. Confronted with the vast expanse of the mist-covered Dongting Lake, he couldn't help but offer heartfelt admiration. Reflecting upon his own wandering twilight years and the multitude of calamities plaguing the nation, his heart was filled with myriad emotions. Thus, it was in Yueyang that he composed the renowned poem "Ascending the Tower of Yueyang"
Overview
The poem primarily portrays the poet's self-image and concentrates on expressing his thoughts and emotions of concern for the country and its people. Furthermore, due to the intertwining of these emotions with the poet's own tragic circumstances and his unfulfilled personal ambitions, the poem resonates with a multitude of contradictions between history and the present, the nation and the individual, rendering the sentiments more vivid, profound, and poignant.
The poem consists of four quatrains. In the opening lines, the first couplet focuses on the character "Ascending" and highlights the characteristic "water" of the Dongting Lake. It depicts the young and ambitious poet's yearning for the beauty of the lake, while also expressing his lament at only being able to behold it in his old age, burdened by numerous ailments. This sets the stage for the subsequent descriptions of the scenery and the poet's emotional expression.
The second couplet vividly portrays the vastness and boundlessness of the Dongting Lake, creating a sense of immense expanse and grandeur, while also subtly conveying the poet's concerns about the state of the nation. The third couplet employs the image of a solitary boat on the lake to depict the poet's personal hardships and predicament, expressing his anguish and dissatisfaction at being unable to serve the country and its people. Finally, the fourth couplet creates a sense of being present in the realm of rivers and lakes while the heart remains in Chang'an (the capital), completing the image of a patriotic poet who is deeply concerned for the country and its people, despite being physically distant from the center of power.
This poem exhibits two main artistic achievements:
Firstly, the poem employs various techniques to create a diverse range of expressions. Despite its brevity of only eight lines, it utilizes multiple techniques. The opening couplet employs a narrative approach, explaining the reason for ascending Yueyang Tower. The following two lines employ descriptive techniques, portraying the grand and magnificent scenery of the tower. Within the depiction, the poem also utilizes vivid metaphors to enhance its liveliness. The final two lines employ an emotional style, revealing the poet's inner world and expanding the poem's artistic imagery.
Secondly, the poem exhibits a significant leap in both content and emotions. In terms of content, the opening couplet describes the poet's ascent to the tower, encompassing a temporal leap from the past to the present. In the following couplet, the focus shifts from the poet's personal experiences to the depiction of Dongting Lake, representing a transition from small to large. Within the scenic description, there is also a spatial leap from the regions of Wu and Chu to the celestial realm of the sun and moon. The subsequent couplet returns to the portrayal of the poet himself, creating a contrast between the preceding and following couplets. In the final couplet, the poet expands from personal circumstances to national affairs, creating another transition from small to large. In the depiction of national affairs, there is a leap from the depiction of national crisis to the expression of the poet's emotions, forming a dynamic and expansive structure. In terms of the poet's emotional development, the opening couplet contains a sense of joy, the following couplet evokes grandeur, the subsequent couplet reflects hardship, and the final couplet conveys sorrow. The poet's emotions evolve and change throughout the progression of the poem, displaying a highly dynamic and leap-like artistic characteristic.
Line Breakdown
昔闻洞庭水，今上岳阳楼。
In bygone days, I heard of Dongting's tide, Now, atop Yueyang Tower, I do abide.
One thing is quite clear: the poet had long yearned for Dongting Lake, which naturally and subtly emerges in the narrative and scenic descriptions. However, this longing belongs to the past. Upon ascending Yueyang Tower, one would assume the poet to be joyful because their yearning of many years has been fulfilled. Yet, upon closer examination, there is no explicit expression of joy in the lines, no words of fulfillment. When considering the following lines, this sentiment becomes even more apparent.
In fact, between the "past" and the "present," there lies a long passage of time. The poet expands this distance, intentionally avoiding simple words like "joy" or "sorrow" to fill it. Instead, they leave it for the readers to imagine and savor. As the ancients said, "The beauty of regulated poetry lies in its unspoken parts," and this is precisely such an unspoken part. Between the "past" and the "present," the heavens change, the earth changes, the country changes, and people change. The An Lushan Rebellion, the decline of the Tang Dynasty from prosperity to decline, the profound calamities suffered by the people, and Du Fu's own tragic experiences—all of these converge within the poet's heart and accompany him as he ascends Yueyang Tower. He cannot find joy.
It can be said that "ascending Yueyang Tower" represents a yearning that persisted for many years and has now been fulfilled. It is a deep sigh, and within this sigh lies a profound sense of concern for the country and the people, a lamentation for the troubled times. This sigh, like the prelude of a song, sets the stage for the subsequent movements.
Here, we should also note the word "water." Although the title is "Ascending Yueyang Tower," the first line mentions Dongting Lake before introducing Yueyang Tower in the second line, specifically referring to "Dongting water" rather than Dongting Lake. This emphasis on "water" is intentional, highlighting the prominent feature of Dongting's scenery and indicating that the subsequent text will primarily focus on the element of "water."
吴楚东南坼，乾坤日夜浮。
The realms of Wu and Chu, in the southeast they lie, The cosmic dance unfolds, beneath the sun and sky.
Indeed, these lines are remarkable. First, they depict the geographical divisions between the east of the lake and the regions of Wu and Chu. Then, they portray the constant fluctuations of the heavens and the earth upon the waters of the lake. The imagery is grand and majestic, evoking a tremendous sense of power.
When it comes to depicting Dongting Lake, even Meng Haoran has a famous line: "In the eighth month, the lake's waters are tranquil, encompassing the vast emptiness in perfect clarity. The mist rises, mingling with dreamlike marshes, and the waves shake Yueyang City."
“八月湖水平，涵虚混太清，气蒸云梦泽，波撼岳阳城。” - 孟浩然
Meng Haoran's portrayal is vivid, but Du Fu's two lines surpass it. In Meng's poem, the word "shake" carries a sense of force, while in Du's poem, the word "float" is used more naturally. "Shake" is a carefully chosen word, but using "float" requires not only careful word selection but also deep observation and a profound understanding of the objective reality to authentically reflect the truth.
Moreover, Du Fu's two lines are integrated with the entire poem, forming a harmonious and profound unity, while Meng's poem has a slight imbalance in its structure. These two lines depict the scenery, but they should not be seen merely as a depiction of scenery; they also reveal the poet's broad perspective. "The divisions of Wu and Chu in the southeast, the heavens and the earth floating day and night" convey the splintering decline of the Tang Dynasty and the instability of the nation's state.
亲朋无一字，老病有孤舟。
No words from kin and friends, my heart does ache, In solitude I sail, with age and illness at stake.
These two lines depict the poet's own situation. "Without a word" implies a complete lack of news or communication. "Without a word from loved ones" expresses the poet's loneliness, but it primarily signifies the interruption of information, his lack of understanding of the situation in the court and the local regions, and thus the condition of the entire country. For a poet who never forgets the ruler, the nation, and the people, this sense of being forgotten by society undoubtedly causes immense mental anguish.
"Solitude" refers to the poet's entire family cramped in a small boat, drifting and struggling through life, cut off from news, burdened with old age and illness. One can imagine the mental and physical hardships they endured. To understand these two lines, we should consider them in connection with the previous two lines.
The first two lines present a distant view, gazing across the lake as the water extends into the horizon, where water meets sky, evoking thoughts of the regions of Wu and Chu, and the vast universe. When we examine these two lines closely, we encounter the image of the solitary boat, which captures the poet's attention most profoundly in the immediate foreground. Consequently, it triggers associations with his own background, experiences, and predicament. These two couplets are, in fact, interconnected in their meaning.
While they may seem unrelated on the surface, they are actually connected. Since the latter two lines describe the poet's lonely and miserable condition, we can infer that the previous two lines are not merely about depicting the scenery; they symbolically and metaphorically allude to the turbulence and instability of the country.
This includes the aftermath of the An Lushan Rebellion: the decline of the Tang Dynasty, the suffering of the people, the invasions of foreign forces, the fragmentation of the nation, the social unrest, and the lack of capable officials. These are all significant concerns that weigh heavily on Du Fu's mind as he drifts through life.
It is precisely because the poet carries deep concerns for the affairs of the nation and its people that he experiences such mental anguish. Therefore, when he looks out upon the vast and boundless Dongting Lake from the top of Yueyang Tower, it is natural for him to contemplate these matters.
One could say that if he didn't contemplate these issues, he wouldn't be Du Fu. It is due to the turmoil of national and societal affairs that constantly churns in the poet's heart that the sorrow of his own unfulfilled aspirations naturally emerges. The pitiful state of drifting in a solitary boat, being old and weak, and being cut off from news is thus logically brought to the forefront of his thoughts.
In these two couplets, the first expresses a grand and expansive scene, while the second portrays a minute detail on the water's surface—a solitary boat. Although there is a stark contrast in scale, they are unified within a single painting.
If we liken the Dongting Lake to the entire country, then that tiny boat represents the poet himself. It is a symbol, and within this vivid contrast and harmonious combination, it encompasses both the poet's profound sorrow and dissatisfaction with his own life experiences, as well as the poet's tight connection between his personal destiny and the destiny of the nation.
Standing atop Yueyang Tower, gazing at the lake and observing the solitary boat, contemplating the state of the nation and his own circumstances, countless emotions swirl in his heart. "Without vastness, narrow places won't bring suffering. With narrowness, an expansive realm feels emptier." The contrast between "the universe" and "the solitary boat" highlights the vastness of the former and the desolation of the latter.
戎马关山北，凭轩涕泗流。
To the north, where warriors guard the mountain pass, Upon this balcony, tears and grief amass.
From the perspective of the poet, as he gazes from Dongting Lake towards Chang'an, lies a succession of barriers and towering peaks, while the fires of conflict blaze in the north. Specifically, this signifies the invasion of Tubo (吐蕃), menacing Chang'an, where ceaseless warfare robs the nation of tranquility. "Upon this balcony, tears and grief amass." speaks of Du Fu leaning against the window of Yueyang Tower, as he gazes northward.
Though separated by mountainous barriers, he cannot see Chang'an, nor the raging flames of war, yet in his heart, he envisions the invasion of Tubo, the perilous state of Chang'an, and the suffering of the people. Thus, he cannot suppress the torrents of sorrow that flow from his aged eyes.
These two lines depict two scenes: one, the fires of war near northwest Chang'an, and the other, the elderly poet gazing from the window of Yueyang Tower. Together, they form a painting, the former existing within the poet's imagination, while the latter represents his physical reality.
Though Chang'an and Yueyang Tower are separated by thousands of miles, in the poet's heart, no such distance exists. Truly, he resides by Dongting Lake, but his heart remains in Chang'an. Though his lone boat may be small, it carries the weight of the entire realm. Within his aged and infirm body, the earnest heart of concern for the nation and its people beats unwaveringly.
Furthermore, the line "To the north, where warriors guard the mountain pass" explicitly reveals that when the poet ascends Yueyang Tower, his thoughts are consumed by the nation's unrest. This further underscores that the second couplet is far from merely depicting the scenery. The third couplet is likewise not solely about the poet's own desolate and destitute state. The following line encapsulates the poet's overwhelming sense of helplessness and profound suppression, as he contrasts the state of the nation with his own plight. It vividly and profoundly portrays the spiritual anguish of Du Fu in his later years. This anguish primarily stems from his profound sense of powerlessness.