English Rendering
In hills I saw you off today quite late;
At dust I came back and closed my wood gate.
When in next spring the grass turn green again,
Would you, my lord, return, too, from the plain?
A Parting
- Poetry of Wang Wei
《山中送别》
Original Text (中文原文)
山中相送罢，日暮掩柴扉。
春草明年绿，王孙归不归？
Analysis & Context
This farewell poem by Tang Dynasty poet Wang Wei expresses the loneliness and longing felt after seeing off a friend in the mountains. Unlike typical farewell poems that depict emotional partings with tears, this work conveys post-departure solitude through a single poignant detail. With concise language and delicate emotion, it stands as one of Wang Wei's most classic farewell compositions.
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.
- Deer Enclosure
- An Early Audience at the Palace of Light, Harmonizing Secretary Jia Zhi's Poem
- Watching the Hunt
- The Lake Qi
- The Pepper Garden
- Mengcheng Mound
- The Summit Temple
- <Prelude to Water Melody> Sent to Ziyou on Mid-autumn Festival
- Invitation to Wine
- Question and Answer in the Mountains
- Cold sheet
- Coming Home ( Returning Home )
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