Birds vanish into Chu’s vast air—
You’ll chase the jade clouds home, alone there.
The broken mirror hastens your ride,
While dying sun greets mountains you’ve eyed.
Your poems float on running streams,
Your dreams dissolve in petals’ seams.
If you send word of missing days,
This sorrowed face will shine with rays.
楚乡飞鸟没，独与碧云还。
破镜催归客，残阳见旧山。
诗成流水上，梦尽落花间。
傥寄相思字，愁人定解颜。
This farewell poem was composed by Qian Qi during the Dali era (766 - 779) of the Tang Dynasty for his friend Xiahou Shen. Xiahou, who once served as a Collator in the Imperial Library, shared a profound friendship with the poet. As Xiahou departed for his eastern homeland, Qian composed this work to express their bond. Through depicting landscapes along his friend's journey and post-separation longing conveyed in verse and dreams, the poem reveals deep affection with lingering resonance that moves readers profoundly.
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.
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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