THE RIVERSIDE VILLAGE

Du Fu

(Tang Dynasty)

The winding clear river around the village flows;

We pass the long summer by riverside with ease.

The swallow freely comes in and freely out goes;

The gulls on water snuggle each other as they please.

My wife draws lines on paper to make a chessboard;

My son knocks a needle into a fishing hook.

Ill, I need only medicine I can afford.

What else do I want for myself in my humble nook?

江村

[唐]杜甫

清江一曲抱村流,

长夏江村事事幽。

自去自来堂上燕,

相亲相近水中鸥。

老妻画纸为棋局,

稚子敲针作钓钩。

但有故人供禄米,

微躯此外更何求？

About the poet 

Du Fu was a Tang Dynasty poet (618-907) who became known as one of China's greatest literati of all time.

About the translator 

Xu Yuanchong (1921-2021) was born in Nanchang in East China's Jiangxi Province. He was a professor of literary translation at Peking University.

About the book 

300 Tang Poems Translated by Xu Yuanchong Published by China Intercontinental Press