Jade Flower Palace
Tu Fu, translated by Kenneth Rexroth
The stream swirls. The wind moans in
The pines. Gray rats scurry over
Broken tiles. What prince, long ago,
Built this palace, standing in
5 Ruins beside the cliffs? There are
Green ghost fires in the black rooms.
The shattered pavements are all
Washed away. Ten thousand organ
Pipes whistle and roar. The storm
10 Scatters the red autumn leaves.
His dancing girls are yellow dust.
Their painted cheeks have crumbled
Away. His gold chariots
And courtiers are gone. Only
15 A stone horse is left of his
Glory. I sit on the grass and
Start a poem, but the pathos of
It overcomes me. The future
Slips imperceptibly away.
20 Who can say what the years will bring?
Making Meanings
Jade Flower Palace
1. Write your thoughts on Tu Fu’s question, “Who can say what the years will bring?”
2. The similarities between this poem and Shelley’s “Ozymandias” are striking. Like these eighth- and eighteenth-century observers, you can also ponder the ruins of power. Explore the differences and similarities between “Jade Flower Palace” and “Ozymandias.”
3. To write a poem on the same theme today, what physical site would you choose? (It might be an abandoned site, not necessarily a destroyed one.) What objects would you focus on?
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