Furling my sail near the town of Huai,
I find for harbour a little cove
Where a sudden breeze whips up the waves.
The sun is growing dim now and sinks in the dusk.
People are coming home. The bright mountain-peak darkens.
Wildgeese fly down to an island of white weeds.
…At midnight I think of a northern city-gate,
And I hear a bell tolling between me and sleep.
Original Poem:
「夕次盱眙县」
韦应物
落帆逗淮镇， 停舫临孤驿。
浩浩风起波， 冥冥日沈夕。
人归山郭暗， 雁下芦洲白。
独夜忆秦关， 听钟未眠客。
Interpretation:
This poem was probably written by the poet on his way to Suzhou as an official. The poem is mainly about stopping over at Xuyi, Jiangsu Province, and homesickness on the journey.
The first line explains the place of stopover. Unloading the sails of the ship in Xuyi, a town by the Huai River, the ship is moored in a place designed for mail carriers and officials to stay during their journey. There are no other houses nearby and it is rather lonely. The loneliness of the environment triggers the inner loneliness of the people in the environment.
Then, the evening scene is described. When the sun sinks in the west at twilight, the wind and waves on the river are so strong that there are no more boats, and the line of sight is gradually blurred, which cannot attract the poet’s attention. The display of the open picture, but also unable to dispel the thoughts of the poet’s heart.
The neck line depicts a peaceful picture of people returning to their homes. Poet from far and near, back to the line of sight: nightfall, only to see people carrying plows, hoes have returned home; geese have landed in the white reeds, the end of the day’s toil. Such a see more catalyzed the poet to the hometown of longing.
Finally, the natural expression of travel thoughts, revealing the theme. Alone in the quiet of the night, I ended up seeing, but can only recall the people and things of my hometown Chang’an, the more I recall, the more I can’t sleep, and the bells coming from the temple in the distance keep reminding the poet that he is living in another country.
Poem translator:
Kiang Kanghu
About the poet:
Wei Yingwu (韦应物), circa 737 – 786, was a native of Chang’an, Beijing. His poems were collected in the Wei Suzhou Collection, which included poems concerned with the plight of the people, expressions of disobedience to the times and indignation against the world, and descriptions of idyllic landscapes, etc., of which the ones describing idyllic landscapes are the most famous, and have been sung by posterity in particular.
