Chinese Poem & Painting

-Spring View
--Du Fu
The country is broken, though hills and rivers remain,
In the city in spring, grass and trees are thick.
Moved by the moment, a flower's splashed with tears,
Mourning parting, a bird startles the heart.
The beacon fires have joined for three months now,
Family letters are worth ten thousand pieces.
I scratch my head, its white hairs growing thinner,
And barely able now to hold a hairpin.

-This poem is talking about war within one country: China. Similar to the American Civil War between the north and the south. Someone is crying in the city, over a flower which is getting splashed with tears because they miss a family member. They get jumped by a bird that flies away and makes their heart start racing. They read the letters that they had received from a loved one which brings back memories. "A picture's worth a thousand words" but "Family letters are worth ten thousand pieces". Obviously, this person is very sentimental. They're also old and were once a part of the government. This person is probably thinking back..remembering the times of the war by reading those family letters; the first 6 lines being the memory. The last 2 lines explaining how the man is now old with white hair and close to death because he's weak from age.


Chinese Painting-First Picture
-This painting is of two people standing under trees in spring. One person, the more apparent man, is older and looking to the sky, as if looking to the spirits. The other person, in the lower left hand corner, is younger and looks like he's following or admiring the older man while holding a crutch. It seems that the younger boy could be the younger version of the older man in front of him. The younger boy could be seeing into his future, seeing the man he wishes to be when he gets to be that age. Or, it could be that the boy is following the man; whether it be from admiration or apprenticeship or both. They're standing under a tree and near some bushes. The tree has a bird on sitting on it which could be representing the coming warm weather.

Connection
-The poem and painting are related because both imply the season of spring which could mean the beginning of something new. This is shown better in the painting as there is an old man followed by a young boy. Another connection is the old man in each. Both are surrounded by trees, grasses and/or flowers and both seem to be remembering something specific. Thinking of family members or thinking to the future, both men are in a sort of forested area. The forestry could be a sense of calming for them because they can relate to them and their life cycle. They're born, they grow, they die. It's relaxing and an easy place to think, even if they're thinking of sad things.