Where a yellow river climbs to the white clouds,
Near the one city-wall among ten-thousand-foot mountains,
A Tartar under the willows is lamenting on his flute.
That spring never blows to him through the Jade Pass.
Original Poem:
「出塞」
王之涣
黄河远上白云间，一片孤城万仞山。
羌笛何须怨杨柳，春风不度玉门关。
Interpretation:
This poem is the poet just arrived in Liangzhou, facing the Yellow River, the border city of the desolate and vast scene generated feelings, but also shows the generals for the country garrison sad feelings.
The first two lines depict the desolate and vast scenery around Liangzhou in ancient times. The poet first uses the lens to take a distant view: the Yellow River surging waves into the sea, from bottom to top, from near to far, like a white ribbon winding up to the clouds. The poet’s vision is opposite to the flow direction of the Yellow River, highlighting the long-flowing Yellow River’s long ritual, but also showing the vast landscape of the borderland, focusing on the performance of the Yellow River’s static beauty.
The poet also takes a close-up view with a three-dimensional sense: the very small castle inhabited by the garrison soldiers stands alone amidst the high mountains. The mountains in the distant river are used to contrast the dangerous terrain and lonely situation of the Yumen Pass. Lonely city is a piece, is thin, narrow, while the mountains are ten thousand Ren, to the number and volume is extremely disproportionate to the two things, forming a stark contrast, resulting in a kind of psychological pressure, this is the poet’s skillful combination of the power of words.
The last two lines borrow the sound of the flute, expressing the poet’s feelings about this scene. The question turns out a strong poetic meaning, and the sound of the Qiang flute blows out the loneliness and strong resentment of the garrison’s situation.
Poem translator:
Kiang Kanghu
About the poet:
Wang Zhilu(王之涣), 688-742 AD, was a native of Taiyuan, Shanxi Province. Wang Zhilu was a bold and liberal character who liked to sing sad songs with a sword. His poems were so magnificent, passionate and musical that they were sung by musicians at the time and became a sensation. He sang and harmonized with Gao Shi and Wang Changling, and was one of the famous border poets of the Sheng Tang Dynasty. Most of his poems have been lost, and only six of them have survived, all of which are famous.
