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After quitting his post in Huachou in 758, Tu Fu (712–770) stayed for a while in Tienshui then moved to Szechuan province in 759. With the help of a relative he managed to buy a small piece of land and build a cottage outside Chengtu’s West Gate on the banks of the Huanhua River, a minor tributary of the nearby Min. He wrote this poem in 760 during his first summer there. His cottage, or at least a reconstructed version, is still on the same spot, and authorities have even begun excavating Tu Fu’s old trash heap. Another variant of the seventh line reads: “all I need is medicine for my countless ills.” Officials were paid in units of grain they could use as food or convert into currency.

River Village

TU FU

A clear river winds around the village

all summer long village life is peaceful

swallows in the rafters come and go at will

seagulls on the water visit friends and kin

my wife draws a chessboard on a piece of paper

my children make fishhooks out of sewing needles

thankfully an old friend shares his office rice

what else does this poor body need