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Shǔ XiàngThe Prime Minister of Shu 蜀相

Du Fu (杜甫, also known as Tu Fu, Du Zimei)｜High Tang｜seven-character regulated verse

Du Fu's tribute to Zhuge Liang.

Original Chinese text with pinyin

丞相祠堂何处寻
chéng xiàng cí táng hé chù xún

锦官城外柏森森
jǐn guān chéng wài bǎi sēn sēn

映阶碧草自春色
yìng jiē bì cǎo zì chūn sè

隔叶黄鹂空好音
gé yè huáng lí kōng hǎo yīn

三顾频繁天下计
sān gù pín fán tiān xià jì

两朝开济老臣心
liǎng cháo kāi jì lǎo chén xīn

出师未捷身先死
chū shī wèi jié shēn xiān sǐ

长使英雄泪满襟
cháng shǐ yīng xióng lèi mǎn jīn

Simplified characters; traditional title: 蜀相.

English translation

Where shall I find the Prime Minister's shrine?

Outside Brocade City, where cypresses grow dense.

Green grass on the steps keeps its spring color;

Orioles beyond the leaves sing their songs in vain.

Thrice visited, he planned for all under heaven;

Through two reigns he served with an old minister's heart.

He marched out and died before victory came—

Heroes ever after wet their robes with tears.

Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.

Line by line

丞相祠堂何处寻 · chéng xiàng cí táng hé chù xún — Where shall I find the Prime Minister's shrine?

锦官城外柏森森 · jǐn guān chéng wài bǎi sēn sēn — Outside Brocade City, where cypresses grow dense.

映阶碧草自春色 · yìng jiē bì cǎo zì chūn sè — Green grass on the steps keeps its spring color;

隔叶黄鹂空好音 · gé yè huáng lí kōng hǎo yīn — Orioles beyond the leaves sing their songs in vain.

三顾频繁天下计 · sān gù pín fán tiān xià jì — Thrice visited, he planned for all under heaven;

两朝开济老臣心 · liǎng cháo kāi jì lǎo chén xīn — Through two reigns he served with an old minister's heart.

出师未捷身先死 · chū shī wèi jié shēn xiān sǐ — He marched out and died before victory came—

长使英雄泪满襟 · cháng shǐ yīng xióng lèi mǎn jīn — Heroes ever after wet their robes with tears.

Meaning and imagery

The first half is a quiet visit: dense cypresses, grass and orioles that sing "in vain" because no one comes. The third couplet sums up Zhuge Liang's career, from Liu Bei's three visits to his cottage to his loyal service to two rulers. The final couplet, on his death in the field before victory, is among the most quoted lines in Chinese and has moved readers to tears ever since.

Background

Written in 760 when Du Fu visited the shrine of Zhuge Liang, chief minister of the Three Kingdoms state of Shu, in Chengdu (the "City of Brocade").

Key words

丞相 chéng xiàng: prime minister (Zhuge Liang)
锦官城 Jǐnguān Chéng: City of Brocade, Chengdu
三顾 sān gù: the three visits of Liu Bei
出师 chū shī: to lead out the army

About the poet: Du Fu

Du Fu (also romanized Tu Fu) lived through the An Lushan Rebellion, which tore apart the Tang empire and his own family life. His precise, compassionate poems record war, poverty and loyalty, earning him the titles "Sage of Poetry" and "poet-historian."

Lifetime: 712–770. Other famous works: Happy Rain on a Spring Night (春夜喜雨); The Prime Minister of Shu (蜀相); The Officer at Shihao Village (石壕吏); Thoughts While Traveling at Night (旅夜书怀); Qujiang (曲江); Meeting Li Guinian in Jiangnan (江南逢李龟年); Ballad of the Army Carts (兵车行); Moonlit Night (月夜); Spring View (春望); Climbing High (登高); Quatrain: Two Orioles (绝句·两个黄鹂鸣翠柳); On Yueyang Tower (登岳阳楼); My Thatched Hut Torn by the Autumn Wind (茅屋为秋风所破歌).