To My Old Friend in Yangzhou From a Boat Moored at Night on the Tonglu River
- Poetry of Meng Haoran

《宿桐庐江寄广陵旧游》
To My Old Friend in Yangzhou From a Boat Moored at Night on the Tonglu River by Meng Haoran
English Translation

With monkeys whimpering on the shadowy mountain,

And the river rushing through the night,

And a wind in the leaves along both banks,

And the moon athwart my solitary sail,

I, a stranger in this inland district,

Homesick for my Yangzhou friends,

Send eastward two long streams of tears

To find the nearest touch of the sea.

Five-character-regular-verse

Written during Meng Haoran's travels through Wu-Yue after leaving Chang'an, this poem captures a night of solitary mooring on the Tonglu River. The quiet river landscape mirrors the poet's profound nostalgia for past travels in Yangzhou (Weiyang) and departed friends, exemplifying his signature style of expressing solitude through natural imagery.

中文原文( Chinese )

山暝听猿愁，沧江急夜流。

风鸣两岸叶，月照一孤舟。

建德非吾土，维扬忆旧游。

还将两行泪，遥寄海西头。

Pre： To Buddhist Priest Yuan From Chang'an
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.

Famous Chinese Poems
You May Also Like

© CN-Poetry.com Chinese Poems in English