Xiāng SīLonging 相思
Wang Wei's red beans became China's symbol of love and longing.
Original Chinese text with pinyin
红豆生南国
hóng dòu shēng nán guó
春来发几枝
chūn lái fā jǐ zhī
愿君多采撷
yuàn jūn duō cǎi xié
此物最相思
cǐ wù zuì xiāng sī
Simplified characters; traditional title: 相思.
English translation
The red beans grow in southern land.
How many load in spring the trees?
Gather them till full is your hand;
They would revive fond memories.
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
Instead of describing his feelings, Wang Wei hands them to an object. The bright red seed, small enough to hold, becomes a token the friend can carry. The question in line two keeps the tone light, and the request in line three is gentle rather than pleading. The final line names the theme outright, but because it is said of the beans, not of the poet, the emotion stays understated. Today the poem is read as a love poem as much as a poem of friendship.
Background
Traditionally said to be sent to the court musician Li Guinian; the title appears in some sources as 相思 and in others as 江上赠李龟年. The red "love pea" (Abrus or Adenanthera seed) of southern China was already linked with yearning in folklore.
Key words
- 红豆 hóng dòu
- red bean, "love pea," a token of longing
- 南国 nán guó
- the south
- 采撷 cǎi xié
- to pick, to gather
- 相思 xiāng sī
- longing for someone, lovesickness
About the poet: Wang Wei
Wang Wei was a poet, painter, musician and court official. A devout Buddhist, he wrote spare, luminous landscape verse; later critics said there is "a painting in his poems and a poem in his paintings." He is sometimes called the "Buddha of Poetry."
Lifetime: c. 699–761. Other famous works: Miscellaneous Poem (You Have Come from Home) (杂诗); Farewell (Dismounting to Drink) (送别); Autumn Evening in the Mountains (山居秋暝); Longing (相思); Deer Park (鹿柴); Bamboo Grove Retreat (竹里馆); Farewell to Yuan the Second on His Mission to Anxi (送元二使安西); Thinking of My Brothers on the Double Ninth (九月九日忆山东兄弟).
Names from this poem
More by Wang Wei
- Farewell to Yuan Er on His Mission to Anxi送元二使安西
- Deer Park鹿柴
- Bamboo Grove Retreat竹里馆
- Thinking of My Brothers on the Double Ninth九月九日忆山东兄弟
- Farewell (Dismounting to Drink)送别
- Autumn Evening in the Mountains山居秋暝
- Miscellaneous Poem (You Have Come from Home)杂诗