赠花卿

(zèng huā qīng)

Dedicated to General Hua

杜甫  【唐】(dù fǔ, táng)

By Du Fu, Tang Dynasty (AD 618907)

锦程丝管日纷纷，

(jǐn chéng sī guǎn rì fēn fen,)

String and wind music are played in Jin city day after day.

半入江风半如云。

(bàn rù jiāng fēng bàn rù yún.)

Half of the music spreads into the river winds, half into the clouds.

此曲只应天上有，

(cǐ qǔ zhī yīng tiān shàng yǒu,)

This divine music should only be heard in heaven.

人间能得几回闻？

(rén jiān néng dé jǐ huí wén?)

How many times could it be heard in the human world?

Notes:

花卿(huā qīng): Hua indicated General Hua Jingding, who was stationed in Chengdu, Sichuan province, as a high ranking military officer in the Tang Dynasty. Qing was a general term for high officials in ancient China.

锦城(jǐn chéng): the Brocade City, an artistic name for Chengdu.

丝管(sī guǎn): string and wind instruments, here it means Tang Dynasty music.

Summary:

This poem is seemingly an ode to music, but it's actually a subtle satirical poem because General Hua often listened to the royal music which was forbidden to be enjoyed by anybody else but the emperors.