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Bié Dǒng DàFarewell to Dong Da 别董大
A farewell in north wind and heavy snow, ending with words of encouragement. A winter poem.
Original Chinese text with pinyin
千里黄云白日曛
qiān lǐ huáng yún bái rì xūn
北风吹雁雪纷纷
běi fēng chuī yàn xuě fēn fēn
莫愁前路无知己
mò chóu qián lù wú zhī jǐ
天下谁人不识君
tiān xià shuí rén bù shí jūn
Simplified characters; traditional title: 別董大.
English translation
A thousand miles of yellow cloud dim the white sun;
the north wind drives the geese through swirling snow.
Don't worry that no friend awaits you on the road ahead —
who under heaven does not know your name?
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
Yellow clouds for a thousand li, the sun darkening, north wind and geese. Do not fear that the road ahead has no true friends—who under heaven does not know you? Farewell becomes courage.
Background
A farewell in north wind and heavy snow, ending with words of encouragement. A winter poem.
Key words
- 董大 dǒng dà
- Dong Da — the musician Dong Tinglan
- 知己 zhī jǐ
- one who knows you; a true friend
- 谁人不识君 shuí rén bù shí jūn
- who does not know you? — everyone recognizes you
About the poet: Gao Shi
Gao Shi, with Cen Shen, defines High Tang frontier poetry.
Lifetime: c. 700–765. Other famous works: Farewell to Dong Da (别董大).