清明
qīng míng清明shí jié时节yǔ雨fēn fēn纷纷，
lù shang路上xíng rén行人yù欲duàn断hún魂。
jiè wèn借问jiǔ jiā酒家hé chù何处yǒu有，
mù tóng牧童yáo遥zhǐ指xìng huā cūn杏花村。
Line by line
- 清明时节雨纷纷，清明時節雨紛紛， At Qingming the rain falls thick and fast;
- 路上行人欲断魂。路上行人欲斷魂。 on the road, travellers feel their souls breaking.
- 借问酒家何处有，借問酒家何處有， “Where, may I ask, can a tavern be found?”
- 牧童遥指杏花村。牧童遙指杏花村。 The herd-boy points afar to Apricot Blossom Village.
The poet & the story
Du Mu (803–852), the great poet of the late Tang, was famous for quatrains that compress a whole scene into four lines. This one is so tied to the Qingming festival that newspapers reprint it every April; the “Apricot Blossom Village” it mentions is now claimed by several rival towns — and a famous baijiu brand.
Interpretation
Endless drizzle at Qingming, and travellers on the road feel their souls dissolving — grief for the dead mixed with cold and weariness. Where can a man find a tavern? A herd-boy points, without a word, to a village deep in apricot blossom. Sorrow turns to warmth in a single gesture.