English Rendering
The clear stream winds along, with willows overgrown;
The wooden bridge still stands, where twenty years have flown.
I parted here with my fair lady then;
Would she’d send word! Would she’d send word! I wish in vain again.
Willow Branch Song
- Poetry of Liu Yuxi
《柳枝词》Original Text (中文原文)
清江一曲柳千条，二十年前旧板桥。
曾与美人桥上别，恨无消息到今朝。
Meaning & Analysis
The exact year of this poem's composition is unknown; based on its content, it should be a work from Liu Yuxi's late years, recalling the past. The poet was passing by a plank bridge when he saw the willow branches by the river and suddenly remembered bidding farewell to a woman there twenty years before. Since then, there had been no word from her. The poem does not reveal who the woman was, does not explain why they parted back then, and does not tell how those twenty years were spent. Liu Yuxi simply presents the time (twenty years ago), the place (the plank bridge), the person (the beauty), and the outcome (no news), leaving the rest for the reader to feel. This use of negative space is precisely the brilliance of Tang poetry.
Related Themes
Reader's Companion
The Essence of the Verse
Classical Chinese poetry thrives on Concision and Ambiguity. Without tense or number, the words create a timeless space where the reader becomes the co-creator of the poem's meaning.
Reading Between the Lines
Look for Contrasts: light and shadow, movement and stillness. Don't just translate the words; feel the Yijing (artistic conception) that lingers long after the last character.
- Gazing at Lake Dongting
- Waves Sifting Sand I
- Willow Branch Song I
- The Taoist Temple Revisited
- The Flower-admirers
- Memories at Jinling
- The Summit Temple
- <Prelude to Water Melody> Sent to Ziyou on Mid-autumn Festival
- Invitation to Wine
- Question and Answer in the Mountains
- Cold sheet
- Coming Home ( Returning Home )
The Masters' Directory
Journey through the dynasties. Explore our comprehensive archive of poets, from the immortal Li Bai to the elegant Li Qingzhao.
View All Poets →