A wind, bringing willow-cotton, sweetens the shop,
And a girl from Wu, pouring wine, urges me to share it
With my comrades of the city who are here to see me off;
And as each of them drains his cup, I say to him in parting,
Oh, go and ask this river running to the east
If it can travel farther than a friend's love!
Original Poem:
「金陵酒肆留别」
李白
风吹柳花满店香，吴姬压酒劝客尝。
金陵子弟来相送，欲行不行各尽觞。
请君试问东流水，别意与之谁短长？
Interpretation:
This is a poem of farewell.
The first two lines: The spring breeze blows up the willow floss hotel full of fragrance, the maid brings out a fine wine and urges me to savor it.
The poet first paints a mesmerizing picture of spring light and color. The poet is about to leave Jinling in the blooming spring, and he is sitting alone in a small hotel in a water village in the south of the Yangtze River, drinking wine. Willow flakes float all over the store. The maid of the hotel pressed out new wine to persuade the guests, and the fragrance of wine and the fragrance of flowers blowing in the wind merged into one.
The third and fourth lines: Young friends from Jinling have rushed to see them off. Between wanting to leave and staying, each of them drank freely and were happy and sad.
The young friends from Jinling came to see the poet off. Those who saw him off urged him to drink and could not bear to leave, and those who said goodbye were infinitely fond of him.
The last two lines: please ask the east-flowing river, the feeling of parting with it than who is shorter and who is longer?
Just when the poet is in the prime of life and did not indulge in the sentiment of parting, he touched the scene, wrote fondly, please ask the east-flowing river, parting with it compared to who is shorter and who is longer? The poet is not only like asking the friends who are sending off, but also like asking the readers, which is more like a self-expression of the emotion in the middle and the shape in the words.
Although this poem is only a short six lines, but the writing is full of emotion, the language is fresh and fluent, with a simple folk song flavor, overflowing with the rich atmosphere of farm life.
Poem translator:
Kiang Kanghu
About the poet:
Li Bai (李白), 701 ~ 762 A.D., whose ancestral home was in Gansu, was preceded by Li Guang, a general of the Han Dynasty. Tang poetry is one of the brightest constellations in the history of Chinese literature, and one of the brightest stars is Li Bai.
