Home › Poems › Thinking of Li Bai on a Spring Day
Chūn Rì Yì Lǐ BáiThinking of Li Bai on a Spring Day 春日忆李白
Du Fu misses Li Bai in spring and calls his poetry unrivalled.
Original Chinese text with pinyin
白也诗无敌
bái yě shī wú dí
飘然思不群
piāo rán sī bù qún
渭北春天树
wèi běi chūn tiān shù
江东日暮云
jiāng dōng rì mù yún
Simplified characters; traditional title: 春日憶李白. This is a long poem; only the best-known lines are shown, and “……” marks omitted passages.
Note on the text: This page presents a well-known excerpt; the full poem is longer in the traditional corpus.
English translation
Li Bai, your poems have no equal;
your thoughts soar, unlike any other's.
North of the Wei, the spring trees;
east of the river, the evening clouds.
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
Du Fu misses Li Bai in spring and calls his poetry unrivalled. The scene stays with you.
Background
Du Fu misses Li Bai in spring and calls his poetry unrivalled.
Key words
- 白也 bái yě
- key word in the poem
- 诗无 shī wú
- key word in the poem
- 飘然 piāo rán
- key word in the poem
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); Gazing at Mount Tai (望岳); A Guest Arrives (客至); Strolling by the River V (江畔独步寻花 其五); Strolling Alone by the River in Search of Flowers (江畔独步寻花); River Village (江村); Winter Solstice Eve (小至); Thinking of Li Bai on a Spring Day (春日忆李白); Easing the Heart by the Water Rail (水槛遣心); Quatrain (绝句); Casual Quatrain (绝句漫兴); For General Hua (赠花卿).
More by Du Fu
- Spring View春望
- Quatrain (The River Blue)绝句
- Climbing High登高
- On Yueyang Tower登岳阳楼
- Moonlit Night月夜
- Happy Rain on a Spring Night春夜喜雨
- Meeting Li Guinian in Jiangnan江南逢李龟年
- Qujiang曲江