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Happy Rain on a Spring Night Good rain knows its time right; lt will fall when comes spring. With wind it steals in night; Mute, it moistens each thing.
O'er wild lanes dark c: loud spreads; In boat a lantern looms. Dawn sees saturated reds; The town's heavy with blooms. - Translated by Xu Yuanchong |
When Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu (712-770) wrote this poem, he was living in Chengdu. Sometimes he went to farm in the field. The poem shows his care for farmers.
The very first word, "good", shows the poet's joy and love for the spring rain. The rain is good indeed, as it "knows＂ the proper time to come. Here the poet uses personification (拟人), as if the rain were smart enough to know that it should come in time for the farmer's busy plowing (农耕) season.
When the rain comes, it appears during the night without making any noise. Unlike the thunder(雷) and lightning of summer storms, the quiet spring rain makes its contributions without seeking (寻求) to be known.
In the night sky, the clouds look dark and heavy, indicating (暗示) that there will be enough rain during the night. Then the poet imagines: tomorrow morning, all of the flowers in the city will bloom (盛开) after the rain.
①wind ②snowstorm ③cloud ④rainbow ⑤thunder
