No ripples in the river, no mist on the islands,
Yet the landscape is blurred toward my friend in Chu...
Birds in the slanting sun cross Hankou,
And the autumn sky mingles with Lake Dongting.
...From a bleak mountain wall the cold tone of a bugle
Reminds me, moored by a ruined fort,
That Jia Yi's loyal plea to the House of Han
Banned him to Changsha, to be an exile.
Original Poem:
「自夏口至鹦鹉洲夕望岳阳寄源中丞」
刘长卿
汀洲无浪复无烟， 楚客相思益渺然。
汉口夕阳斜渡鸟， 洞庭秋水远连天。
孤城背岭寒吹角， 独戍临江夜泊船。
贾谊上书忧汉室， 长沙谪去古今怜。
Interpretation:
The poet takes the opportunity of reminiscing and writing about the scenery to express his feelings of loneliness and isolation on his journey.
The quiet Tingzhou, no wind and waves, no smoke and mist, only the poet’s wandering shadow, thinking of his old friend Yuan Zhongcheng. In the setting sun of Hankou, from time to time, you can see the birds crossing the river, the autumn water of Dongting Lake and the distant sky together. These two lines write a scene that is majestic but bleak. The lone city behind the mountain resounds with horns, adding a chill to the poet; beside the post on the river, the poet’s boat is moored.
The author departed from Xiakou by boat and first saw Tingzhou, which was in the daytime. To Hankou, nearly dusk, to Parrot Island, it is already night. Along the way, there are close-up views and distant views. In the scene, there is the nostalgia for Yuan Zhongcheng, the Chu Guests, the Dongting Autumn Water, are the manifestation of this feeling. The lonely city blowing horns and the solitary garrison mooring ship symbolize the miserable emotion of his deportation. The conclusion of the poem is a self-referential metaphor for Jia Yi, which is an expression of his own feelings of injustice and depression to Yuan Zhongcheng.
The whole poem is a blend of landscape and lyricism, and what the poet sees and hears along the way is integrated with the poet’s sadness of parting and being relegated.
About the poet:
Liu Zhangqing (刘长卿-) was a native of Xian County, Hebei Province. He studied at Mt. Songshan when he was young, and later moved to Jiangxi, where he received his bachelor’s degree in 733 A.D. He also belonged to the Wang and Meng school of poetry. His poems belonged to the school of Wang and Meng, and he was most famous for his five-character poems, and was also most conceited, once thinking that he was “the Great Wall of five-character poems”, which meant that no one could surpass him.
Poem translator:
Kiang Kanghu
