清明
On the Qingming Festival
Original
清明时节雨纷纷，
路上行人欲断魂。
借问酒家何处有？
牧童遥指杏花村。
Translation
Drizzling rain falls thick and fast on Qingming Day;
Wayfarers on the road are overcome with sorrow.
I ask a shepherd boy where a tavern might be found;
He points far to the village amid apricot blossoms.
Line by Line Analysis
About This Poem
This lyrical poem paints a tender, melancholic scene on the Qingming Festival, a traditional Chinese holiday blending ancestral remembrance and spring celebration. Against a backdrop of continuous drizzling rain, a weary traveler wanders, his spirit weighed down by grief tied to the holiday’s tomb-sweeping rituals. Seeking solace in wine, he asks a young shepherd for tavern directions; the boy responds with a gesture toward a distant village blooming with apricot flowers. The poem balances deep sorrow with spring’s quiet hope, capturing Qingming’s dual nature: mourning and life’s cycle. It also echoes late Tang’s pervasive unease, wrapping personal emotion in a universally relatable narrative.
About the Poet
杜牧
Dù Mù
Du Mu (803–852) was a distinguished poet and government official of the late Tang Dynasty, widely regarded as one of the 'Little Li Du' (alongside Li Shangyin), defining the era’s literary landscape. His works span historical commentaries, pastoral lyrics, and vivid daily-life depictions, blending sharp historical insight with delicate, evocative imagery. Often tinged with subtle melancholy, his poetry reflects the fading grandeur of late Tang while capturing universal human emotions.
Cultural & Historical Context
The Qingming Festival traces to the Spring and Autumn Period’s Cold Food Festival, formalized as a Tang national holiday merging ancestral worship with spring activities. Culturally, it is a core expression of Chinese filial piety—families clean tombs, offer sacrifices, and honor the departed, while embracing spring through outings and flower-viewing. Socially, late Tang China faced political corruption, uprisings, and decline, fostering collective uncertainty. Du Mu, who endured political setbacks and frequent travels, drew from his own weariness to craft the traveler’s plight. His purpose was to capture universal longing for comfort amid grief, highlighting Qingming’s duality. Artistically, simple conversational language and vivid sensory imagery evoke profound emotion, with rain’s dreariness contrasting apricot blossoms’ hope, making this poem an enduring Tang classic.