Du Mu: Meditate on the Past in Jiangnan

Meditate on the Past in Jiangnan

江 南 怀 古

车 书 混 一 业 无 穷
井 邑 山 川 今 古 同。                                                                                          戊 辰 年 向 金 陵 过
惆 怅 闲 吟 忆 庾 公。

Jiang Nan Huai Gu

Che shu hun yi ye wu qiong
Jing yi shan chuan jin gu tong.                                                                                              Wu chen nian xiang jin ling guo
Chou chang xian yin yi yu gong.

Meditate on the Past in Jiangnan

One karma without poverty by being a government bureaucrat
Jin cities, mountains and rivers are all the same now as in the past.      Passing by Jinling, this year on the horoscope is much different that the last one
Recall Geng Gong who overcame melancholy and lament to triumph.

Notes:

Jinling: Ancient name for the modern day city of Nanjing.

Yu (Geng) Gong: (513-581 AD) A foreign diplomat who used his skills learned from fighting the northern nomads against them. He was hardened by his experiences of being captured by the nomads, imprisoned, and then later escaped.