Tonight, in the month of Juzhou, I only look at it alone.
Pity the little children, and do not understand the memory of Chang'an.
The fragrant mist is wet, and the clear jade arm is cold.
When will the tears dry under the guise of nothing?
In the fifteenth year of Tianbao, the Anshi Rebellion swept the world. This war changed the fate of countless people, and Du Fu took his family to hide in Yanzhou. Hearing the news that Tang Suzong Li Heng ascended the throne and raised troops to fight the Anshi rebels, Du Fu decided to go to Lingwu to defect to Tang Suzong. But very unlucky, he was caught by the Anshi rebels as soon as he left Juzhou, and then sent to Chang'an, which was controlled by the rebels. In this way, Du Fu, who had been trapped in Chang'an for more than ten years, was forced to stay in Chang'an.
At this time, Du Fu was 45 years old. His wife, Yang, is 11 years younger and 34 years younger.
This is a poem full of longing.
The moon in Juzhou is exceptionally bright tonight. It was supposed to be a good time to enjoy the moon, but the husband was outcast, and only "I" sat alone in the boudoir, staring at the bright moon.
I think of young and innocent children, they still can't understand the pain of their family's parting, they don't understand why their mother is worried about Chang'an, they don't understand, what their mother is concerned about is actually the person who lives in Chang'an.
In the middle of the night, the mist slowly rose, condensing into dew in my bun, and the clear light of the moon reflected on my arms, but there was no warmth, only a bitter coldness.
The family wanders around, and the rare time of reunion is disrupted by the war. I longed for the day when I could enjoy the bright moon with my husband under the false guise as before, and let the tears slowly disappear in laughter.
There is no Du Fu himself in the poem, but completely expresses his longing for Du Fu from the perspective of Du Fu's wife Yang.
In ancient times, literati always had the idea that if they expressed their longing for their wives and family to outsiders, it was a useless performance. But Du Fu did not care about this prejudice at all. You must know that when this poem was written, Du Fu's wife Yang was still experiencing the dilemma of living in poverty, dragging her children and daughters, and her husband was not around, so she could only rely on her own hard work to make a living. Fragrant mist and clouds, clear and bright jade arms, such words are used to describe stunning beauties without disobedience, but Du Fu used these words full of praise to describe his wife Yang. Du Fu used such rhetoric to express his infinite love and infinite longing for his wife. Later generations of readers here, if they can experience the deep affection in Du Fu's heart, they will also be deeply moved.
It should also be noted that Du Fu does not explicitly write his thoughts in the whole poem, but every word is expressing his thoughts and concerns for his wife and children. This is not an exercise of writing technique, I prefer to believe that it is an indescribable expression that is so affectionate that it has to be adopted. Just as the poet Xin Qiji said in later generations, if you really understand the taste of sorrow, you can't say sorrow, you can only say "the weather is cool and autumn".
Du Fu's love for his wife and family is a concrete expression of his great love for the world. It's hard to imagine how a person who doesn't even love his own family can have heartfelt compassion for the suffering people in the world.
The reason why Du Fu can become a "poet saint" is precisely because he has such a great love in his heart, and uses his poetry to pass on this emotion to our readers without reservation, so that we can be moved and perceived.