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Qiū Fēng YǐnThe Autumn Wind 秋风引
Liu Yuxi: the exile is the first to hear autumn arrive.
Original Chinese text with pinyin
何处秋风至
hé chù qiū fēng zhì
萧萧送雁群
xiāo xiāo sòng yàn qún
朝来入庭树
zhāo lái rù tíng shù
孤客最先闻
gū kè zuì xiān wén
Simplified characters; traditional title: 秋風引.
English translation
From where does the autumn wind come?
Soughing, it sees the wild geese off.
At dawn it enters the courtyard trees—
The lonely traveler hears it first.
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
The poem opens with a question no one can answer. The wind is heard before it is seen, first in the cries of departing geese, then in the rustling of the courtyard trees. The last line reveals the speaker: a lonely traveler, more sensitive than others because he is far from home. Twenty characters, and autumn and exile become one.
Background
Written by Liu Yuxi during his long years of exile in the south.
Key words
- 萧萧 xiāo xiāo
- the sighing of wind
- 雁群 yàn qún
- a flock of wild geese
- 孤客 gū kè
- a lonely traveler
About the poet: Liu Yuxi
Liu Yuxi, a close friend of Liu Zongyuan and Bai Juyi, spent over twenty years in exile after the failed reform of 805. Bai Juyi called him the "hero of poetry" for his resilient, witty spirit.
Lifetime: 772–842. Other famous works: Black Robe Lane (乌衣巷); Autumn Song (秋词); The Autumn Wind (秋风引); An Inscription for My Humble Room (陋室铭).