From ten thousand valleys the trees touch heaven;
On a thousand peaks cuckoos are calling;
And, after a night of mountain rain,
From each summit come hundreds of silken cascades.
...If girls are asked in tribute the fibre they weave,
Or farmers quarrel over taro fields,
Preside as wisely as Wenweng did...
Is fame to be only for the ancients?
Original Poem:
「送梓州李使君」
王维
万壑树参天， 千山响杜鹃。
山中一夜雨， 树杪百重泉。
汉女输橦布， 巴人讼芋田。
文翁翻教授， 不敢倚先贤。
Interpretation:
This is a famous farewell poem. Poet contrary to the usual by the side of the scene to write open the routine, but imagined friends will go to the Sichuan scene, the momentum of the great.
The first line, thousands of mountains and ravines with big trees in the sky, everywhere you can hear the cries of the cuckoo. In the third line, after a night’s rain in the mountains, there are a hundred paths of flying springs, which seem to be hanging from the treetops from afar. Wang Wei had been to Shu, he combined with his own experience of living in Shu, for his friends to depict a very beautiful picture of Shu style, the picture is sharp, very three-dimensional.
These four lines of the poem make people feel as if they were in the resort of Sichuan, beside them are the ancient trees in the sky and the mountains, and in their ears are the cuckoo cries that resound through thousands of mountains and the waterfalls at the top of the cliffs that vibrate with the sound of the layers of the mountains, which makes them feel overwhelmed by the sight.
The author in a slightly envious tone depicted some of the beauty of Shu, Wang Wei turned to write about the people and politics of Shu. Here the poet began to imagine the life of his friend after his arrival.
The last couplet uses an allusion to the rule of Shu. Wen Weng was the governor of Shu County during the reign of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty. He was generous in his administration, and when he saw the remoteness of Shu, he constructed a palace of learning to attract and nurture talents, so as to make Shu more and more enlightened. Wang Wei here to Wen Weng than Ambassador Li, official colleagues with the same, very appropriate. In this way, he encouraged Li to follow the example of Wen Weng, to do his duty and make a difference, and not to rely on the achievements of the sages and do nothing.
The mood of the whole poem is positive and cheerful, and the style is high and far-reaching. The first half of the poem is especially good, and it is one of the best works of farewell in Tang poetry.
Poem translator:
Kiang Kanghu
About the poet:
Wang Wei (王维), 701-761 A.D., was a native of Yuncheng, Shanxi Province. Wang Wei was a poet of landscape and idylls. His poems of landscape and idylls, with far-reaching images and mysterious meanings, were widely loved by readers in later generations, but Wang Wei never really became a man of landscape and idylls.
