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Du Fu 杜甫

The Du Fu lines collected here connect private feeling with a larger historical and ethical world. English explanations are reading aids; the Chinese text and source remain primary.

3 verified linesTang dynasty7 connected themes1 source collections

Bilingual collection

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3 curated lines
✓ Verified sourceBilingual

会当凌绝顶，一览众山小。

Huì dāng líng jué dǐng, yī lǎn zhòng shān xiǎo.

Close English reading

I will surely climb to the highest summit and see all the other mountains become small.

Plain meaningAim for the summit and gain the wider view that effort makes possible.

Source
Du Fu· Tang dynasty · Gazing at Mount Tai
Complete Tang Poems
Why it fitsThe future tense matters: the summit is a declared ambition, not an achievement already possessed.
Original context and translation note
荡胸生曾云，决眦入归鸟。会当凌绝顶，一览众山小。

English wording on Gu Ren Said is an original reading aid, not a claim that there is only one valid literary translation.

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✓ Verified sourceBilingual

露从今夜白，月是故乡明。

Lù cóng jīn yè bái, yuè shì gù xiāng míng.

Close English reading

From tonight the dew turns white; the moon is brightest in my homeland.

Plain meaningHome always seems brighter when you are far away.

Source
Du Fu· Tang dynasty · Moonlit Night, Remembering My Younger Brothers
Complete Tang Poems
Why it fitsThe claim is emotional rather than astronomical: distance makes the remembered moon of home feel brighter.
Original context and translation note
戍鼓断人行，边秋一雁声。露从今夜白，月是故乡明。

English wording on Gu Ren Said is an original reading aid, not a claim that there is only one valid literary translation.

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✓ Verified sourceBilingual

笔落惊风雨，诗成泣鬼神。

Bǐ luò jīng fēng yǔ, shī chéng qì guǐ shén.

Close English reading

When his brush falls, wind and rain are startled; when the poem is complete, ghosts and spirits weep.

Plain meaningHis talent is so powerful that it seems to shake heaven and earth.

Source
Du Fu· Tang dynasty · Twenty Rhymes for Li Bai
Complete Tang Poems
Why it fitsIt is an extravagant but memorable way to praise extraordinary creative talent.
Original context and translation note
昔年有狂客，号尔谪仙人。

English wording on Gu Ren Said is an original reading aid, not a claim that there is only one valid literary translation.

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Explore related themes

See how the same author appears across feelings, situations, and ideas.

Ambition & successFamily & reunionHomesicknessLifeMoon & nightPerseveranceTravel & journey

Source collections

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Complete Tang Poems3

Family separation, moonlit remembrance, aspiration, praise, and moral seriousness grounded in lived difficulty. English translations on this page are original reading aids and do not replace the Chinese source text.

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