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Téng Wáng Gé ShīThe Pavilion of Prince Teng 滕王阁诗

Wang Bo (王勃, also known as Wang Po)｜Early Tang｜seven-character ancient-style poem

Wang Bo's pavilion where the river flows on alone.

Original Chinese text with pinyin

滕王高阁临江渚
téng wáng gāo gé lín jiāng zhǔ

佩玉鸣鸾罢歌舞
pèi yù míng luán bà gē wǔ

画栋朝飞南浦云
huà dòng zhāo fēi nán pǔ yún

珠帘暮卷西山雨
zhū lián mù juǎn xī shān yǔ

闲云潭影日悠悠
xián yún tán yǐng rì yōu yōu

物换星移几度秋
wù huàn xīng yí jǐ dù qiū

阁中帝子今何在
gé zhōng dì zǐ jīn hé zài

槛外长江空自流
jiàn wài cháng jiāng kōng zì liú

Simplified characters; traditional title: 滕王閣詩.

English translation

Prince Teng's tall pavilion overlooks the river islet;

the jingling of jade pendants and carriage bells has ceased, the songs and dances ended.

At morning, the painted beams fly with the clouds of Nanpu;

at dusk, the pearl blinds roll up to the rain of the Western Hills.

Idle clouds and their shadows in the pool, day after day;

things change, stars shift — how many autumns have passed?

The prince of the pavilion — where is he now?

Beyond the railing, the Yangtze flows on, empty, by itself.

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

Line by line

滕王高阁临江渚 · téng wáng gāo gé lín jiāng zhǔ — Prince Teng's tall pavilion overlooks the river islet;

佩玉鸣鸾罢歌舞 · pèi yù míng luán bà gē wǔ — the jingling of jade pendants and carriage bells has ceased, the songs and dances ended.

画栋朝飞南浦云 · huà dòng zhāo fēi nán pǔ yún — At morning, the painted beams fly with the clouds of Nanpu;

珠帘暮卷西山雨 · zhū lián mù juǎn xī shān yǔ — at dusk, the pearl blinds roll up to the rain of the Western Hills.

闲云潭影日悠悠 · xián yún tán yǐng rì yōu yōu — Idle clouds and their shadows in the pool, day after day;

物换星移几度秋 · wù huàn xīng yí jǐ dù qiū — things change, stars shift — how many autumns have passed?

阁中帝子今何在 · gé zhōng dì zǐ jīn hé zài — The prince of the pavilion — where is he now?

槛外长江空自流 · jiàn wài cháng jiāng kōng zì liú — Beyond the railing, the Yangtze flows on, empty, by itself.

Meaning and imagery

The poem contrasts past splendor with present emptiness. The music has stopped, but clouds and rain still visit the pavilion's beams and blinds. The "stars shifting" and "things changing" mark the passing of years. The final question and answer — the prince is gone, but the river flows on alone — joins the transience of human glory to the permanence of nature.

Background

Attached to Wang Bo's famous "Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng," written around 675 at a banquet in Hongzhou (Nanchang). Prince Teng, a son of the Tang founder, had built the pavilion.

Key words

鸣鸾 míng luán: carriage bells
南浦 Nánpǔ: South Bank, a place of farewells
物换星移 wù huàn xīng yí: things change and stars shift
槛 jiàn: railing

About the poet: Wang Bo

Wang Bo was a child prodigy and one of the "Four Paragons of the Early Tang." He drowned in his mid-twenties, shortly after writing his celebrated "Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng."

Lifetime: c. 650–676. Other famous works: The Pavilion of Prince Teng (滕王阁诗); Farewell to Vice-Prefect Du on His Way to Shuzhou (送杜少府之任蜀州); Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng (滕王阁序).