63. Verses for an Old Cypress Tree

A poem by Du Fu, translated by Hyun Woo Kim

There is an old cypress tree in front of Kongming's shrine:

The branches are like patinated bronze, and the roots are like stone.

Rain drips on its frosted bark, around forty arms' stretches;

Its indigo-eyeliner-like color soars to the sky, up two thousand chis.

The king and the subject are already together, having timely met;

Even the trees are loved and cared for by the people.

The clouds arrive, and their vitality reaches long to Wuxia;

The moon rises, and its chill opens white onto snowy mountains.

Recalling yesterday's road, which circles around the east of Jin Pavilion,

The Former Emperor and the Lord of Wu shared the Royal Shrine.

The towering branches and trunk were old on the suburban plain;

The paintwork on the shrine was refined, but the windows and the doors were empty.

Crouching and taking root all alone, though it has gained its land,

Hidden from others' eyes, being high and lonely, there is much violent wind.

Holding onto self is the power of gods;

Being straight and unbending—its primal cause is credited to the Creator.

Even if a grand mansion tilts and a pillar is needed,

Ten thousand bulls will turn their heads away, due to its weight like a hill and a mountain.

It does not expose its swirls, but the world has already been amazed—

Why would it refuse to get cut down?... Who can carry it?

Its heart is in pain since it could not avoid letting in mole crickets and ants;

At the end of the fragrant leaves, Fenghuang will stay.

Gentlemen of will, men in seclusion, do not resent and despair!

Since ancient times, when talent is great, it has been hard to be used.

「古柏行」

孔明廟前有老柏

柯如靑銅根如石

霜皮溜雨四十圍

黛色參天二千尺

君臣已與時際會

樹木猶爲人愛惜

雲來氣椄巫峽長

月出寒通雪山白

億昨路繞錦亭東

先主武侯同閟宮

崔嵬枝幹郊原古

窈窕丹靑戶牖空

落落盤踞雖得地

冥冥孤高多烈風

扶持自是神明力

正直元因造化功

大廈如傾要梁棟

萬牛回首丘山重

不露文章世已驚

豈辭剪伐誰能送

苦心未免容螻蟻

香葉終經宿鸞鳳

志士幽人莫怨嗟

古來材大難爲用

From Hyun Woo:

As we can tell from the title and the first line, Du Fu wrote this week’s poem after seeing an old cypress tree in front of Kongming’s shrine. Kongming was a talented man who had worked as a farmer, but was later picked by Liu Bei. Liu Bei, who started out as a rather small-scale warlord, would become the emperor of Shu Han and Kongming its prime minister. It seems the two men were not only political comrades but also shared a deep personal friendship. Kongming and Liu Bei, who are also addressed as the “Former Emperor and the Lord of Wu”, are even buried together.

Du Fu recalls the story of Kongming from the giant cypress tree. When a subject and a king “timely” meet, the subject can fully exhibit his talent. However, when the time is not right, the subject will be “all alone… hidden from others’ eyes, being high and lonely”. He has to face “much violent wind” on his own.

According to Du Fu, the problem is not just that a talented man’s pontential is unrecognized. People still know they need “a pillar” for the “grand mansion”, but it is hard to cut down a tree too big and use it. The tree is too heavy, “like a hill and a mountain”, and “ten thousand bulls” cannot carry it. In addition, the “world has already been amazed” by the giant tree, and there is even no need for the tree to show its “swirls” inside itself. The tree would not “refuse to get cut either”, but so what? “Who can carry it?” Thus, the tree ends up enduring the “mole crickets and ants”, although its “fragrant leaves” are fit for Fenghuang, a phoenix-like legendary bird.

Du Fu must have been thinking of certain talented people who were not as lucky as Kongming, possibly including himself. Nevertheless, he tells them not to “resent and despair”. The world has always been harsh for people with great talent. Even in our times, it is hard to hire an overqualified person when there is no suitable position.

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