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Sòng Chái Shì YùSeeing Off Censor Chai 送柴侍御
Wang Changling sees a friend off: both places share one moon.
Original Chinese text with pinyin
沅水通波接武冈
yuán shuǐ tōng bō jiē wǔ gāng
送君不觉有离伤
sòng jūn bù jué yǒu lí shāng
青山一道同云雨
qīng shān yī dào tóng yún yǔ
明月何曾是两鄕
míng yuè hé zēng shì liǎng xiāng
Simplified characters; traditional title: 送柴侍御.
English translation
The Yuan River's waves flow on to Wugang;
seeing you off, I feel no pain of parting.
One line of blue hills shares the same cloud and rain;
when was the bright moon ever two places apart?
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
Wang Changling sees a friend off: both places share one moon. The scene stays with you.
Background
Wang Changling sees a friend off: both places share one moon.
Key words
- 沅水 yuán shuǐ
- key word in the poem
- 武冈 wǔ gāng
- key word in the poem
About the poet: Wang Changling
Wang Changling was called the "Master of the Seven-Character Quatrain." His frontier poems about soldiers and border fortresses, and his poems of farewell, are among the most anthologized of the Tang.
Lifetime: c. 698–756. Other famous works: Out to the Frontier (出塞); Farewell to Xin Jian at Hibiscus Tower (芙蓉楼送辛渐); Lotus-Picking Song (采莲曲); Seeing Off Censor Chai (送柴侍御).