Shān XíngMountain Walk 山行
Du Mu's maple leaves redder than spring flowers.
Original Chinese text with pinyin
远上寒山石径斜
yuǎn shàng hán shān shí jìng xié
白云生处有人家
bái yún shēng chù yǒu rén jiā
停车坐爱枫林晚
tíng chē zuò ài fēng lín wǎn
霜叶红于二月花
shuāng yè hóng yú èr yuè huā
Simplified characters; traditional title: 山行.
Note on the text: Variant: some editions read 白云深处有人家.
English translation
I go up a slanting stony path to the cold hill;
Where rise white clouds, there appear cottages and bowers.
I stop my cab in maple woods to gaze my fill;
Frost-bitten leaves look redder than early spring flowers.
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
The first half climbs, with the path and the clouds leading up to a hidden village. Then the carriage stops for one reason: the maples at dusk. The final comparison turns the usual sadness of autumn upside down — frosted leaves outshine spring flowers. The poem has been cited ever since as proof that autumn can be as beautiful as spring.
Background
An autumn poem by Du Mu, often dated to his time as an official in the south. Some editions read 白云深处 for 白云生处.
Key words
- 石径 shí jìng
- stone path
- 坐 zuò
- because of, simply for
- 霜叶 shuāng yè
- frost-touched leaves
About the poet: Du Mu
Du Mu, grandson of a chief minister, was an official and a stylish writer of quatrains. With Li Shangyin he is known as one of the "Little Li and Du" of the late Tang, prized for vivid scenes tinged with history and melancholy.
Lifetime: 803–852. Other famous works: Written at the Wujiang Pavilion (题乌江亭); Passing Huaqing Palace (过华清宫); Qingming (清明); Spring in Jiangnan (江南春); Mooring on the Qinhuai River (泊秦淮); Mountain Walk (山行).
Names from this poem
More by Du Mu
- Qingming清明
- Spring in Jiangnan江南春
- Mooring on the Qinhuai River泊秦淮
- Written at the Wujiang Pavilion题乌江亭
- Passing Huaqing Palace过华清宫