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Bó Chuán Guā ZhōuMooring at Guazhou 泊船瓜洲

Wang Anshi (王安石, also known as Wang An-shih, Wang Jinggong)｜Northern Song｜seven-character quatrain

Wang Anshi's famous "green" spring wind.

Original Chinese text with pinyin

京口瓜洲一水间
jīng kǒu guā zhōu yī shuǐ jiān

钟山只隔数重山
zhōng shān zhǐ gé shù chóng shān

春风又绿江南岸
chūn fēng yòu lǜ jiāng nán àn

明月何时照我还
míng yuè hé shí zhào wǒ huán

Simplified characters; traditional title: 泊船瓜洲.

English translation

Jingkou and Guazhou are a stretch of water apart;

Zhongshan is only a few hills beyond my heart.

The spring wind has greened the southern shore again—

When will the bright moon light me home once more?

Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.

Line by line

京口瓜洲一水间 · jīng kǒu guā zhōu yī shuǐ jiān — Jingkou and Guazhou are a stretch of water apart;

钟山只隔数重山 · zhōng shān zhǐ gé shù chóng shān — Zhongshan is only a few hills beyond my heart.

春风又绿江南岸 · chūn fēng yòu lǜ jiāng nán àn — The spring wind has greened the southern shore again—

明月何时照我还 · míng yuè hé shí zhào wǒ huán — When will the bright moon light me home once more?

Meaning and imagery

The poem is famous for one word. According to a Song anecdote, Wang tried "reaches," "passes," "enters" and "fills" before choosing "greens" (绿), turning an adjective into a verb so that the wind actively paints the bank. That vivid spring makes his homesickness sharper: home is close, but duty pulls him away, and he can only ask the moon when he may return.

Background

Usually dated to 1075, when Wang Anshi was traveling north to resume his post as chief minister and looked back toward his home at Zhongshan (Nanjing).

Key words

瓜洲 Guāzhōu: a ferry town on the north bank of the Yangtze
钟山 Zhōngshān: Purple Mountain in Nanjing
绿 lǜ: "to make green" — used as a verb

About the poet: Wang Anshi

Wang Anshi was a chief minister of the Northern Song who pushed through the sweeping "New Policies" reforms. Out of office he retired to Nanjing and wrote compact, finely polished quatrains. He is one of the "Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song."

Lifetime: 1021–1086. Other famous works: Mooring at Guazhou (泊船瓜洲); Plum Blossoms (梅花); Climbing Feilai Peak (登飞来峰); New Year's Day (元日); Apricot Blossom by the North Pond (北陂杏花); Written on the Wall of Mr Huyin (书湖阴先生壁); Early Summer (初夏即事); At Zhongshan (钟山即事); Night Duty (夜直).