The Solitary Goose
Du Fu
Du Fu
孤雁
孤雁不饮啄
飞鸣声念群
谁联一片影
相失万重云
望尽似犹见
哀多如更闻
野鸭无意绪
鸣噪亦纷纷
孤雁不饮啄
飞鸣声念群
谁联一片影
相失万重云
望尽似犹见
哀多如更闻
野鸭无意绪
鸣噪亦纷纷
gū yàn
gū yàn bù yǐn zhuó
fēi míng shēng niàn qún
shuí líng yī piàn yǐng
xiāng shī wàn chóng yún
wàng jìn sì yóu jiàn
āi duō rú gèng wén
yě yā wú yì xù
míng zào yì fēn fēn
gū yàn bù yǐn zhuó
fēi míng shēng niàn qún
shuí líng yī piàn yǐng
xiāng shī wàn chóng yún
wàng jìn sì yóu jiàn
āi duō rú gèng wén
yě yā wú yì xù
míng zào yì fēn fēn
Solitary goose not drink peck
Fly call sound miss flock
Who remember one now shadow
Mutual lose myriad layer cloud
Look utmost seem as if look
Distressed much like become hear
Wild duck without state of mind
Call voices also numerous and confused
Fly call sound miss flock
Who remember one now shadow
Mutual lose myriad layer cloud
Look utmost seem as if look
Distressed much like become hear
Wild duck without state of mind
Call voices also numerous and confused
The solitary goose does not drink or eat,
It flies about and calls, missing the flock.
No-one now remembers this one shadow,
They've lost each other in the myriad layers of cloud.
It looks into the distance: seems to see,
It's so distressed, it thinks that it can hear.
Unconsciously, the wild ducks start to call,
Cries of birds are everywhere confused.
It flies about and calls, missing the flock.
No-one now remembers this one shadow,
They've lost each other in the myriad layers of cloud.
It looks into the distance: seems to see,
It's so distressed, it thinks that it can hear.
Unconsciously, the wild ducks start to call,
Cries of birds are everywhere confused.
View Chinese text in traditional characters.
Other Chinese poems about Nature and Separation.
Note: The poem is ambiguous as to whether the central passage refers to the goose searching for its fellows, or the poet looking for the goose (Owen p. 379).
This poem is volume (juàn) 231, no. 69 in the Complete Tang Poems (quán táng shī). It is translated on p. 379 of Owen and p. 98 of Hinton, and as poem 148 in Watson, p. 148.
Hinton, D. (1990) The Selected Poems of Tu Fu. London, Anvil Press Poetry.
Owen, S. (1996) An Anthology of Chinese Literature: Beginnings to 1911. New York/London, W. W. Norton.
Watson, B. (2002) The Selected Poems of Du Fu. New York, Columbia University Press.
