To My Son
In death, I have long known, all things come to nothing;
Yet I grieve that I have not seen the Nine Provinces united.
When the royal army restores the Central Plain in the north,
At the family offering, do not forget to tell your father.
Notes
Shì ér means a message to a son. Yuán means “originally.” The Nine Provinces stand for China. The “royal army” refers to Song forces; the Central Plain refers here to northern lands under Jin rule. Nǎiwēng means “your father,” the speaker himself.
Meaning
The speaker knows that death ends worldly affairs, yet grieves not to see the country reunited. He asks his son to tell him at a family offering if the Song army restores the north.
Appreciation
The poem is addressed to the speaker’s son and entrusts him with a hope the speaker still carries near death.
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The opening faces mortality, then names the speaker’s grief at not seeing the country reunited.
The final request turns toward a hoped-for future. A family offering makes the large historical wish personal and specific.
When reading together, explain the Song–Jin historical setting and discuss how families pass on important hopes.
About the poet
Lu You (1125–1210), courtesy name Wuguan, was a Southern Song poet from the area of present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang. He held regional and frontier posts.
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His large body of poetry includes To My Son and Visiting a Village West of the Mountain.
Sources
Poem and reading reference: Shicile · Poet biography reference · poems-db
Translation and explanations by Poetry Buds; review ongoing.