清(qīnɡ)明(mínɡ)

杜(dù)牧(mù)〔唐(tánɡ)代(dài)〕

清(qīnɡ)明(mínɡ)时(shí)节(jié)雨(yǔ)纷(fēn)纷(fēn),

路(lù)上(shànɡ)行(xínɡ)人(rén)欲(yù)断(duàn)魂(hún)。

借(jiè)问(wèn)酒(jiǔ)家(jiā)何(hé)处(chù)有(yǒu)？牧(mù)童(tónɡ)遥(yáo)指(zhǐ)杏(xìnɡ)花(huā)村(cūn)。

Explanation of Ancient Chinese Poetry

It rains steadily during the Qingming Festival in Jiangnan, and travelers on the road all look melancholic and unhappy.

They ask the locals where to buy wine to drown their sorrows? The shepherd boy just points to a village amidst the apricot blossoms.

Annotations

清明（qīng míng）：One of the 24 solar terms, around April 5th on the Gregorian calendar. Old customs include tomb-sweeping, spring outing, and planting willow trees. In the palace, the day was also known as the Swing Festival, with swings set up in the Kunning Palace and other inner palaces for concubines to play.
纷纷（fēn fēn）：Describing something numerous.
欲断魂（yù duàn hún）：Feeling extremely sad, as if the soul is about to separate from the body. 断魂（duàn hún）: feeling deeply melancholic and distressed. These two lines mean that during Tomb-Sweeping Day, continuous rain falls incessantly; with such weather and such a festival, people on the road feel deeply depressed and disoriented.
借问（jiè wèn）：Please ask.
杏花村（xìng huā cūn）：A village amidst apricot blossoms. Today, it is located outside Xiu Mountain Gate in Guichi, Anhui Province. Influenced by this poem, many later generations used “Apricot Village” as the name for hotels.

Creation Background

This poem first appeared in “Jinxiu Wanhuagu” in the early Southern Song Dynasty, which indicated it as a Tang poem.

It was later included in “Fenmen Zuanlei Tangsong Shixian Qianjia Shixuan”, a collection falsely attributed to Xie Fangde’s “Qianjia Shi” in the Ming Dynasty, and “Kangxi Imperially Selected Tang Poems” in the Qing Dynasty.

According to “Jiangnan Tongzhi”, Du Mu, when serving as the prefect of Chizhou, had visited the Apricot Village to drink, and the Apricot Village referred to in the poem is this place.