Parting on River Yi
- Poetry of Luo Binwang

Concise yet powerful, Luo’s language reveals the power of legacies and the impact that bold decisions can have on generations to come. Based on a true story, the poem traces the last interaction between Crown Prince Dan of Yan state and Jing Ke, a friend whom the prince sent to assassinate another king. Fully knowing the deadly consequences that a failed mission could result in, Jing Ke decided nonetheless to carry out his friend’s desire and the two friends bid farewell at River Yi. Luo describes the tensions of the moment through the detailed description of 发冲冠 (hair standing on end). But, more importantly, the poet encapsulates the bravery of the moment — the courage of a man to take a heroic action that would most likely result in his own death — through the temperature of the river itself: even nature was affected by the two men to a point that it turned 寒 (cold). Written retrospectively, Luo looks at River Yi long after the deal was made between the two friends, and he is still able to feel the tension that came along with a decisive action that happened centuries ago.