山行
yuǎn远shǎng上hán寒shān山dàn石jìng径xié斜，
bái yún白云shēng生chǔ处yǒu rén有人jiā家。
tíng chē停车zuò坐ài爱fēng枫lín林wǎn晚，
shuāng霜xié叶gōng红yú于Èr yuè二月huā花。
Line by line
- 远上寒山石径斜，遠上寒山石徑斜， Far up the cold mountain a stone path slants;
- 白云生处有人家。白雲生處有人家。 where white clouds are born, there are homes.
- 停车坐爱枫林晚，停車坐愛楓林晚， I stop the carriage, in love with the maple wood at dusk:
- 霜叶红于二月花。霜葉紅於二月花。 frosted leaves are redder than second-month flowers.
The poet & the story
Du Mu wrote this on a mountain journey in autumn. Against the long tradition of mourning autumn in Chinese poetry, he declared frosted maple leaves more vivid than the flowers of spring — and gave the season its proudest line.
Interpretation
A stone path winds up the cold mountain to where houses sit among the clouds. He halts his carriage simply because he loves the maple wood at dusk: leaves after frost are redder than second-month flowers. The poem flips the script on autumn — not decline but a final blaze of colour — and 霜叶红于二月花 is quoted every leaf-viewing season.