A Farewell to Secretary Shuyun at The Xietiao Villa in Xuanzhou
- Poetry of Li Bai (Li Po)

《宣州谢朓楼饯别校书叔云》

English Rendering

Since yesterday had to throw me and bolt,

Today has hurt my heart even more.

The autumn wildgeese have a long wind for escort

As I face them from this villa, drinking my wine.

The bones of great writers are your brushes, in the School of Heaven,

And I am a Lesser Xie growing up by your side.

We both are exalted to distant thought,

Aspiring to the sky and the bright moon.

But since water still flows, though we cut it with our swords,

And sorrows return, though we drown them with wine,

Since the world can in no way answer our craving,

I will loosen my hair tomorrow and take to a fishingboat.

A Farewell to Secretary Shuyun at The Xietiao Villa in Xuanzhou by Li Bai (Li Po)
A Farewell to Secretary Shuyun at The Xietiao Villa in Xuanzhou by Li Bai (Li Po)

Original Text (中文原文)

弃我去者,昨日之日不可留;

乱我心者,今日之日多烦忧。

长风万里送秋雁,对此可以酣高楼。

蓬莱文章建安骨,中间小谢又清发。

俱怀逸兴壮思飞,欲上青天揽明月。

抽刀断水水更流,举杯消愁愁更愁。

人生在世不称意,明朝散发弄扁舟。

Analysis & Context

Seven-character-ancient-verse

Xie Tiao or Junior Xie (464-499)was a poet of the Jin Dynasty,who built a pavilion or the North Tower in Xuanzhou (present-day Xuancheng in Anhui Province).

This farewell poem was composed by Li Bai at Xie Tiao's Pavilion in Xuanzhou. Gazing into the distance from the tower, the poet is moved by the scenery to lament the passage of time, express frustration with present troubles, and yearn for ideal realms. Yet finding his sorrows inescapable, he ultimately seeks solace in rivers and lakes, achieving a resigned transcendence. The poem exemplifies Li Bai's unrestrained, visionary style, with emotions surging powerfully in one breathless flow.

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.

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