DU Mu: Ice-Blocked Bian River

A Seven-Word Quatrain by DU Mu (AD 803-852, Tang Dynasty)

Chinese Original

　　　汴河阻冻
　　　　　　　【唐】杜牧
千里长河初冻时，玉珂瑗珮响参差。
浮生恰似冰底水，日夜东流人不知。

Word-by-Word Exegesis 逐字注

　　汴Bian 河River 阻Stop 冻Freeze/ Ice
　　　　　　　　【唐】杜牧 (Tang) DU Mu
千thousand 里li (half a km) 长long 河river 初begin 冻freeze 时time
玉jade 珂a bridle ornament 瑗big-hole jade 珮 jade pendant响click 参差irregular
浮floating 生life 恰just 似akin 冰ice 底beneath 水water
日day 夜night 东east 流flow 人man 不no 知know

Literal translation 直译
　　　Ice-Blocked Bian River
　　　　　　　　　　　　by DU Mu ( 803-852, Tang Dynasty)
By now, the thousand-mile river begins to freeze
And it sounds as the jade pedants on the horse and me clash
What a floating life is but the water beneath ice
Flowing eastward day and night without anyone’s notice

Back-translation 回译
　　此时，千里的河流开始结冰
　　发出声响，犹如马与我身上的玉珮彼此撞击
　　浮生，除了像冰下的水之外，还能是什么
　　日夜想东流去，没有人注意


My Rewriting我的改写

　　　Composed by a Frozen River
Winter offers a vaster view, as rivers freeze
And flatten out to the borderless horizon.
Jade pendants on the bridle and the sword by my side
Do not need a cutting wind to sound like cracking ice.
Only the water beneath ice cannot be heard, running still,
But isn’t it like the drift of life over it?
--- To the east, to the west, in the broad daylight,
Under the black cloak of night.

Back-Translation of My Rewriting 我的改写回译

　　　　写于冰河边
　冬天呈现更为宽广的视野，河流结冰
　向着没有边际的地平线展平
　马缰绳上的玉佩和我腰侧的剑
　无需刺骨的寒风也能发出裂冰一样的响声
　只有那冰下的水无人听见，静静地流淌
　可它不正如流浪其上的人生么
　——向东，向西，在光天化日之下
　也以夜晚的黑色斗篷遮掩