Yuan Dynasty

天净沙·秋

Tiān jìng shā · Qiū

白朴

Bái Pǔ

Gū cūn luò rì cán xiá,

孤村落日残霞，

Qīng yān lǎo shù hán yā,

轻烟老树寒鸦，

Yī diǎn fēi hóng yǐng xià.

一点飞鸿影下。

Qīng shān lǜ shuǐ,

青山绿水，

Bái cǎo hóng yè huáng huā.

白草红叶黄花。

Translation

A lonely village lies beneath the setting sun and fading clouds. Light smoke gathers around old trees and cold crows. A single wild goose passes under the shadowed sky. Green mountains and clear waters remain, while white grasses, red leaves, and yellow flowers compose the colors of autumn.

Analysis

Although this lyric shares the same tune pattern as Ma Zhiyuan’s famous autumn poem, its emotional direction is different. Bai Pu begins with loneliness—village, sunset, smoke, old trees, cold crows—but then opens the scene with a single passing goose. The final line changes the mood through color: green mountains, clear water, white grasses, red leaves, yellow flowers. Autumn is not merely sorrow here. It is spacious, lucid, and richly colored.