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Dìng Fēng BōCalming the Waves 定风波
Walk through the rain—then look back: neither storm nor clear skies.
Original Chinese text with pinyin
莫听穿林打叶声
mò tīng chuān lín dǎ yè shēng
何妨吟啸且徐行
hé fáng yín xiào qiě xú xíng
竹杖芒鞋轻胜马
zhú zhàng máng xié qīng shèng mǎ
谁怕
shuí pà
一蓑烟雨任平生
yī suō yān yǔ rèn píng shēng
料峭春风吹酒醒
liào qiào chūn fēng chuī jiǔ xǐng
微冷
wēi lěng
山头斜照却相迎
shān tóu xié zhào què xiāng yíng
回首向来萧瑟处
huí shǒu xiàng lái xiāo sè chù
归去
guī qù
也无风雨也无晴
yě wú fēng yǔ yě wú qíng
Simplified characters; traditional title: 定風波.
English translation
Do not listen to the rain that drives through woods and beats the leaves.
Why not hum a verse and walk on slowly?
Bamboo staff and straw sandals are lighter than a horse.
Who is afraid?
In a single cape of mist and rain I trust my life.
A chill spring wind sobers me from wine;
a slight cold.
From the hilltop, slanting light comes out to meet me.
I look back to the bleak place I passed—
time to go home.
Neither storm nor clear weather remains.
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
No cape, still walking into the sand-bearing wind. Drunk in spring, sobering on a steep slope, looking back: neither storm nor fair weather. Equanimity after the weather.
Background
Su Shi caught in rain on the road: "a straw cape in the misty rain, all my life".
Key words
- 定风波 dìng fēng bō
- key word in the poem
- 料峭 liào qiào
- key word in the poem
- 萧瑟 xiāo sè
- key word in the poem
About the poet: Su Shi
Su Shi, better known as Su Dongpo, was a poet, essayist, painter, calligrapher and official — the great all-rounder of the Song dynasty. Repeatedly exiled, he met hardship with humor and philosophy, and made the ci (song lyric) a vehicle for grand themes.
Lifetime: 1037–1101. Other famous works: Prelude to Water Melody (When Will the Moon Be Clear?) (水调歌头); Spring Night (春夜); Remembering the Past at Red Cliff (念奴娇·赤壁怀古); Written on the Wall at West Forest Temple (题西林壁); Drinking at West Lake: First Sun, Then Rain (饮湖上初晴后雨); Red Cliff Rhapsody (赤壁赋); Gazing South from Chaoran Terrace (望江南); Drunk at Lake View Tower (六月二十七日望湖楼醉书); Spring River at Dusk (惠崇春江晚景); Crabapple (海棠); Silk-Washing Stream (浣溪沙); Silk-Washing Stream: Dragon Boat Festival (浣溪沙); Eating Lychees (食荔枝); On the Road to Xincheng (新城道中); Calming the Waves (定风波); For Liu Jingwen (赠刘景文).
More by Su Shi
- Spring Night春夜
- Written on the Wall at West Forest Temple题西林壁
- Drinking at West Lake: First Sun, Then Rain饮湖上初晴后雨
- Prelude to Water Melody (When Will the Moon Be Clear?)水调歌头
- Remembering the Past at Red Cliff念奴娇·赤壁怀古
- Gazing South from Chaoran Terrace望江南
- Drunk at Lake View Tower六月二十七日望湖楼醉书
- Spring River at Dusk惠崇春江晚景