A Farewell to a Friend
- Poetry of Li Bai (Li Po)

《送友人》
A Farewell to a Friend by Li Bai (Li Po)
English Translation

With a blue line of mountains north of the wall,

And east of the city a white curve of water,

Here you must leave me and drift away

Like a loosened water-plant hundreds of miles....

I shall think of you in a floating cloud;

So in the sunset think of me.

...We wave our hands to say good-bye,

And my horse is neighing again and again.

Five-character-regular-verse

Li Bai’s friend longs to travel like ‘roaming clouds’. This Chinese farewell poem uses beautiful metaphors to express the deep connection Li Bai and his friend share through their friendship.

中文原文( Chinese )

青山横北郭，白水绕东城。

此地一为别，孤蓬万里征。

浮云游子意，落日故人情。

挥手自兹去，萧萧班马鸣。

- Last updated: 2025-06-28 10:43:31
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Why Chinese poems is so special?
The most distinctive features of Chinese poetry are: concision- many poems are only four lines, and few are much longer than eight; ambiguity- number, tense and parts of speech are often undetermined, creating particularly rich interpretative possibilities; and structure- most poems follow quite strict formal patterns which have beauty in themselves as well as highlighting meaningful contrasts.
How to read a Chinese poem?
Like an English poem, but more so. Everything is there for a reason, so try to find that reason. Think about all the possible connotations, and be aware of the different possibilities of number and tense. Look for contrasts: within lines, between the lines of each couplet and between successive couplets. Above all, don't worry about what the poet meant- find your meaning.

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