ChineseStudy

278. To Han Chuo, Judge of Yangzhou | Du Mu

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English translation

Green hills faint in the distance, waters stretching far; autumn is all but over, yet Jiangnan's grasses have not yet withered.

Faint describes hills that seem barely there, and stretching far the long, distant waterway. That the grasses have not withered shows how mild Jiangnan is, unlike the bleak late autumn of the north. The couplet begins from far off, sketching the long hills and waters around Yangzhou in autumn.

On a moonlit night at the Twenty-Four Bridges, where is the jade-like one teaching someone to play the flute?

The Twenty-Four Bridges is a famous Yangzhou site; jade-like can mean a beautiful woman but often describes a fine-looking man, and here it most likely refers to his friend Han Chuo. Teaching the flute suggests elegant music-making under the moon. Writing from elsewhere, the poet recalls their old outings with a question at once fond and teasing.

赏析 · Commentary

用一个问句写想念 · Longing in a Question

诗没有说“我想你”，也没有说“我怀念扬州”，只问了韩绰一句：今晚你在哪里教人吹箫？问句把景物、月色和旧日的游乐全带了进来。越是写得轻快，越能看出写信人对扬州岁月和友人的眷念。

The poem never says I miss you or I long for Yangzhou; it asks Han Chuo one thing: where are you teaching the flute tonight? The question carries in the scenery, the moonlight, and all their old pleasures. The lighter the tone, the more clearly the writer's attachment to those Yangzhou days and to his friend shows through.

“玉人”是谁 · Who the Jade-Like One Is

“玉人”在唐诗里不一定指女子。杜牧把它用在一首寄给男性友人的诗里，语气又带玩笑，读者便知道多半是称韩绰风采出众，也可读作泛指扬州月下的美人乐伎。两种理解都通，诗中并没有指定；这里取更贴合“寄友人”的读法。

In Tang verse the jade-like one need not be a woman. Du Mu uses it in a poem sent to a male friend, in a teasing tone, so the reader understands it most likely describes Han Chuo's handsome charm. It could also be read as the beauties and musicians of Yangzhou by moonlight. Both readings work, but the poem specifies neither; here I take the one that fits a poem sent to a friend.

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