Sad state, can not help but burst into tears, amazing birds, leaving sorrow and hate.
The war lasted for more than half a year, and letters from home were rare, with a hundred thousand gold.
Twisting with melancholy, scratching my head and thinking, the more I scratch my white hair, I can hardly insert a hairpin.
Famous sentence: After three months of war, a letter from home is worth a ton of gold.
This poem was written in March of the second year of Zhide (757). Du Fu was still trapped in Chang 'an, which was occupied by An Shi Rebellion. The poet saw that the mountains and rivers were still there, and the country was ruined, but the land was desolate in spring, and he couldn't help but feel deeply moved and sad. The first two sentences focus on the overall situation and are tragic; The second sentence starts from a small place, watching flowers and tears, and listening to birds. Shen Deqian noticed that the writing of these two poems is in sharp contrast, that is, "All are happy and all are sad" (Different Poems of Tang Dynasty). Five or six sentences are concerned about the country and the family, and seven or eight sentences are deep sorrow. The whole poem is full of scenes, and the feelings of worrying about the country and homesickness are touching, especially those five or six sentences, which have become widely read because they tell a common spiritual phenomenon in human life.