岱宗夫如何，齐鲁青未了。
dàizōng fūrú hé， qí lǔ qīng wèi liǎo.
造化钟神秀，阴阳割昏晓。
zào huà zhōng shén xiù， yīn yáng gē hūn xiǎo.
荡胸生曾云，决眦入归鸟。
dàng xiōng shēng céng yún， jué zì rù guī niǎo.
会当凌绝顶，一览众山小。
huì dāng líng jué dǐng，yì lǎn zhòng shān xiǎo.
"望岳" (Wàng yuè), also known as "登高" (Dēng gāo), is a famous poem by the Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu. The poem was written in 757 AD when Du Fu was on his way to Chengdu, Sichuan Province, and passed by Mount Tai (Tai Shan) in Shandong Province. The poem is one of Du Fu's most well-known works and has been widely anthologized and studied in China.
Du Fu's "Viewing the Mountain" poem is one of three, each dedicated to the mountains of the east (Mount Tai), south (Mount Heng), and west (Mount Hua). This poem specifically focuses on Mount Tai in the east. In the year 736, at the age of 24, the poet began a wandering life of "clear madness and simplicity." This poem was written during his travels in the northern regions of Qi and Zhao (present-day Henan, Hebei, Shandong, etc.), and is the earliest surviving poem of Du Fu, brimming with the youthful vigor and vitality of the poet.
The poem does not contain the word "view," but every line describes the poet's gaze towards the mountain. The distance is portrayed as gradually decreasing, and the time span from morning to evening, all while the poet imagines his future ascent of the mountain.
岱宗夫如何，齐鲁青未了。
The first line, "岱宗夫如何 Dai Zong, how magnificent are you?" depicts the poet's indescribable joy and admiration upon first seeing Mount Tai. Dai is another name for Mount Tai, which is revered as the foremost of the Five Sacred Mountains. "How magnificent" in Chinese is "fu ru he," which translates to "to what extent?" or "how so?" The use of "夫(fu)" in the beginning of the sentence is a common rhetorical device in classical Chinese, but here it is integrated into the poem, creating a unique and imaginative expression.
"齐鲁青未了The green of Qilu has not yet ended" is a phrase that was derived through a process of observation. It is not an abstract statement about the height of Mount Tai, nor does it use generalized language like Xie Lingyun's "崔崒刺云天" in his "Ode to Mount Tai." Instead, it ingeniously describes the author's own experience - being able to see the far-reaching Mount Tai beyond the borders of the ancient states of Qilu - to highlight the mountain's height through its distance. As Mount Tai lies to the south of Lu and to the north of Qi, this phrase also describes its unique geographical features, making it unsuitable for use in describing other mountains. In the Ming Dynasty, Mo Ruzhong wrote in his poem "Ascending the Yueyang Tower in Dongjun": "齐鲁到今青未了，题诗谁继杜陵人？The green of Qilu has not yet ended to this day, who will continue the poetry of Du?" He specifically mentioned this phrase and believed that no one could surpass it.
造化钟神秀，阴阳割昏晓。
The miraculous beauty and towering grandeur of Mount Tai are depicted in the two lines, '造化钟神秀Nature's clock shows divine artistry, 阴阳割昏晓splitting day and night'. These lines serve as an annotation to the preceding line, '青未了The green has yet to clear'. The character '钟clock' imbues nature with a sentient quality. The side of the mountain facing the sun is the '阳yang' side, while the opposite side is the '阴yin' side. The mountain's height causes the separation between day and night to be marked by the mountain's yin and yang sides, thus the use of '割splitting' is particularly fitting here. Though 'splitting' is an ordinary word, it is used here in a dangerous and precarious sense. This highlights the fearless and daring writing style that Du Fu had developed during his youth, which was characterized by the motto, 'I'll die before writing something boring'."
荡胸生曾云，决眦入归鸟。
"The two lines '荡胸生曾云Ripples spreading through my chest, 决眦入归鸟eyes brimming with tears as homeward-bound birds fly in' describe the act of gazing in detail. As clouds continue to form and disperse in the mountainous landscape, the poet's heart is similarly stirred. Having stared intently for a long time, his eyes are strained to the point of tears. The 'homeward-bound birds' are those that are returning to their nests in the forest, indicating that dusk is approaching, yet the poet still continues to gaze. It goes without saying that these lines contain the poet's love for his country's mountains and rivers.
会当凌绝顶，一览众山小。
The final two lines, '会当凌绝顶 I must ascend to the summit, 一览众山小 view all the other mountains from above' express the desire to climb the peak that arose from the act of gazing upon it. '会当Must' is a colloquial expression from the Tang dynasty, meaning 'definitely.' For example, in Wang Bo's "Ode to Spring," he writes: '会当一举绝风尘，翠盖朱轩临上春 I must rise above the dust and clamor, and ascend to the green canopy and red pavilion.' Sometimes, just the word 'must' is used, as in Sun Guangxian's "Northern Dream Tidbits," where he writes: 'One day I must kill this villain!' In Du Fu's poetry, there are also instances where he only uses this word, as in 'This life will not end in Shu, and I must return to Qin!' (Farewell to Yan Gong on His Journey to the Court). If we interpret 'must' as 'should,' it would be inaccurate and lacking in vigor."
From these two inspiring and symbolic lines of poetry, we can see the ambition and grandeur of Du Fu, who was not afraid of difficulties and dared to climb to the top and overlook everything.
This is the key to Du Fu's becoming a great poet, and it is also indispensable for all those who have achieved success. That is why these two lines of poetry have been recited by people for thousands of years and still resonate strongly with us today. In the Qing Dynasty, Pu Qilong believed that Du's poetry should be "led by this", and said that "Du's heart and ambition are admirable. Take it as the basis and make it a town."
This poem has been praised by later generations as a "masterpiece" and engraved on a stone tablet, standing at the foot of the mountain, immortalized along with Mount Tai.