The soughing autumn wind is blowing;
Grieved, I complain my man is going.
We face each other eye to eye;
Before I speak, I sob and sigh.
My heart is like a winding stream,
How can I tell my dreary dream?
When I miss him after we part,
We can but share moonlight apart.
Original Poem
「古怨别」
孟郊
飒飒秋风生，愁人怨离别。
含情两相向，欲语气先咽。
心曲千万端，悲来却难说。
别后唯所思，天涯共明月。
Interpretation
This is an ancient-style poem by the Mid-Tang poet Meng Jiao. Meng Jiao lived a life of poverty and hardship, repeatedly failing the imperial examinations until finally succeeding at the age of forty-six. In his later years, he endured the agony of losing a son. His poetry often depicts hardship, loneliness, and the harsh realities of the world, earning him the reputation of a "poet of bitter chants." He is frequently paired with Jia Dao, as noted in the critique "Meng's austerity matches Jia's leanness." He excelled at expressing profound emotions with concise language, and was a master at portraying the grief of parting and the sorrows of the human condition.
The poem draws upon the theme of an ancient Music Bureau title, using an autumn farewell as its backdrop to depict the moving scene of a couple's reluctant parting. "The sighing autumn wind" sets the seasonal scene and externalizes the inner mood; "gazing at each other, laden with feeling" captures the final, lingering look before separation; "to speak, but the voice catches in the throat" is the sob that chokes back a torrent of words; "when grief comes, it is hard to say" expresses the speechlessness of overwhelming sorrow; and "under the same sky, the same moon to see" becomes the sole vessel for longing after parting. The poet unfolds the entire process of parting—from the seasonal catalyst, to the scene of departure, to the inner turmoil, and finally to remembrance—layer by layer, with a delicate and vivid authenticity that makes the reader feel present and witness to the moment.
Having wandered all his life and tasted deeply the bitterness of separation, Meng Jiao possessed an extraordinary understanding of the sorrow of parting. Though written in an ancient style, every word of this poem flows from the depths of his being, impossible for one not profoundly acquainted with deep feeling. The sorrowful souls in the autumn wind, the tear-filled, gazing eyes, the choked-back, unspoken words, the shared moon gazed upon after parting—these are the shared memory of countless separated lovers throughout time, and also a profound reflection of the poet's own destiny.
First Couplet: "飒飒秋风生，愁人怨离别。"
Sà sà qiū fēng shēng, chóu rén yuàn lí bié.
The sighing autumn wind begins to blow,
Making hearts laden with sorrow grieve to go.
The poem opens with the autumn wind establishing the atmosphere of parting. "Sighing" (飒飒) imitates the sound of the wind, carrying both an auditory desolation and a physical chill; "begins to blow" (生) describes the wind's gradual emergence, as if this sorrow, like the wind, has imperceptibly begun to rise. The next line, "Making hearts laden with sorrow grieve to go" (愁人怨离别), introduces the poem's subjects and central theme. The word "grieve" (怨) establishes the poem's fundamental tone—not a faint melancholy, not a shallow sadness, but a deep, plaintive sorrow, a powerless lament against a fate that demands this separation. This couplet begins with scene and concludes with emotion, the two seamlessly blending to establish the poem's mournful foundation.
Second Couplet: "含情两相向，欲语气先咽。"
Hán qíng liǎng xiāng xiàng, yù yǔ qì xiān yè.
Gazing at each other, laden with feeling, before they part;
To speak, but a rising sob first clutches at the heart.
This couplet depicts the moment of parting, the poem's most poignant image. "Gazing at each other, laden with feeling" (含情两相向) describes the two looking into each other's eyes—a gaze brimming with infinite reluctance and attachment, all flowing in that silent exchange. "To speak, but a rising sob first clutches" (欲语气先咽) depicts the attempt to speak, the words unuttered as a sob surges up to block the throat. The phrase "a rising sob first clutches" (气先咽) is profoundly authentic and nuanced—not bursting into audible tears, but words arrested on the lips, choked back by the swell of grief. A thousand words, ten thousand sentiments, are contained in that soundless sob; all depth of feeling resides in that mutual gaze. The poet does not record their speech, only their inability to speak, which proves more powerful and moving than any uttered phrase.
Third Couplet: "心曲千万端，悲来却难说。"
Xīn qǔ qiān wàn duān, bēi lái què nán shuō.
The heart's winding paths are countless, tangled, and deep;
When grief arises, words their secret cannot keep.
This couplet delves inward, portraying the lovers' complex state of mind. "The heart's winding paths are countless" (心曲千万端) uses the metaphor of a winding path for the heart, emphasizing the convoluted intricacy of their feelings—not one or two matters, but a thousand tangled, disordered threads; "When grief arises, words their secret cannot keep" (悲来却难说) describes how grief, at its peak, becomes inexpressible. The phrase "cannot keep" (难说) follows naturally from the previous line's "sob first clutches," yet also deepens it: a moment ago it was merely a choked voice; now comes the realization that even if one could speak, the words would fail to capture the heart's secret depths, for its contents are too many, too tangled, too profound. This couplet renders the complexity and helplessness within the parting lovers' hearts with striking depth.
Final Couplet: "别后唯所思，天涯共明月。"
Bié hòu wéi suǒ sī, tiān yá gòng míng yuè.
After parting, there remains but this thought to hold;
Though worlds apart, the same bright moon to behold.
The final couplet shifts from the immediate present to the future, from reality to imagination. "After parting, there remains but this thought to hold" (别后唯所思) describes how, after separation, only endless remembrance remains—the word "but" (唯) emphasizes both the exclusivity and the poignancy of this longing, for beyond it lies nothing. The next line, "Though worlds apart, the same bright moon to behold" (天涯共明月), concludes the poem with a vast, expansive image. That moon is both a feature of the real world and a symbolic solace; it is both a witness to their separation and a bridge for their connection. Henceforth, though parted by the world's ends, they can gaze upon the same moon; though unable to meet, they can sense each other's presence within its light. The word "same" (共) transforms the bitterness of parting into a poignant form of longing, allowing the poem to conclude with deep feeling and lingering resonance.
Holistic Appreciation
This is a fine example of Meng Jiao's ancient-style Music Bureau poetry. In eight lines and forty characters, using an autumn parting as its point of entry, it blends atmospheric setting, situational depiction, psychological portrayal, and post-separation imagination into a unified whole, revealing the profound and complex emotional world of the parting moment.
Structurally, the poem progresses from the external to the internal, from the present to the future. The first couplet uses the autumn wind as an affective image, establishing the season and theme, and setting the mournful tone. The second couplet depicts the scene of parting—"gazing... laden with feeling," "sob first clutches"—external demeanor and action. The third couplet delves inward—"heart's winding paths," "cannot keep"—internal psychological turmoil. The final couplet shifts from present to future, concluding with "the same bright moon," extending the emotion of parting from the instant into eternity. Across the four couplets, the movement is from scene to feeling, from outer to inner, from now to then, deepening layer by layer into a seamless whole.
Thematically, the poem's core lies in the contrast between the concept of "the unsayable" (难说) and the act of "sharing" (共). At the moment of parting, a torrent of words chokes in the throat; one wishes to speak but cannot—this is "the unsayable." After parting, boundless longing finds no outlet, entrusted only to the moon—this is a form of "shared speech." That moon speaks the words they cannot utter; its light is their wordless inner voice. This interplay between "wishing to speak yet falling silent" and "communing without words" is the poem's most moving quality: the deepest feelings are often ineffable; the truest longing is often most profound in silence.
Artistically, the poem's most compelling feature is its restrained technique of "conveying deep feeling through silence." The poet does not record the lovers' speech, only their speechlessness; he does not describe their weeping, only the sob in their throats; he does not articulate the bitterness of longing, only their shared gaze upon the moon. This technique of concealing emotion within silence, of entrusting it to imagery, embodies the highest ideal of classical Chinese poetry: "uttering not a single explicit word, yet capturing the entire spirit."
Artistic Merits
- Scene and Feeling Fused, Restrained and Suggestive: Using the autumn wind to imbue the sorrow of parting, the moon to serve as a solace for longing. Descriptions of scene are expressions of feeling; images are reflections of the heart.
- Vivid Detail, Strikingly Authentic: The phrase "to speak, but a rising sob first clutches" renders the choked moment of parting with such immediacy it seems to unfold before our eyes, deeply stirring the reader.
- Psychological Portrayal, Layered and Profound: Moving from the external demeanor of "sob first clutches" to the internal realization of "cannot keep," it peels back the complex emotional world of the parting lovers layer by layer.
- Concluding Feeling with Scene, Enduring Resonance: The final couplet concludes with "the same bright moon to behold," transforming the bitterness of parting into poignant longing, where the words end but the meaning resonates endlessly.
Insights
Through an autumn parting, this poem speaks to an eternal theme: The deepest feelings are often beyond words; the truest longing is often most profound in silence.
First, it allows us to perceive the "beauty of the unspoken." At the moment of parting, the "gazing... laden with feeling" look, the "sob first clutches" in the throat, the "cannot keep" silence—these are more powerful than any flood of words. True depth of feeling requires no garrulous declaration; true understanding is often accomplished without speech.
On a deeper level, the poem invites us to contemplate the relationship between "distance and longing." After parting, "there remains but this thought," and longing becomes the sole companion. Yet the poet does not dwell in bitterness, instead using "the same bright moon" to elevate longing into a spiritual connection. True love is not diluted by distance; true longing becomes purer within separation.
And most moving is the poem's sense of "trust that needs no words." The parting lovers swear no grand oaths, shed no dramatic tears. They simply gaze silently, are choked silent, and then remember silently. Yet it is precisely this "silence" that convinces us their love is strong enough to traverse time and space, to span the world. Feelings of true depth need no vows to prove them; hearts of true steadfastness need no words to sustain them.
This poem writes of an ancient parting, yet it allows all who have experienced separation to find an echo within it. The sighing autumn wind is the sound in every parting soul's ears; the choked-back sob is the constriction in every reluctant heart's throat; the moon shared across the distance is the solace in the night sky for every longing spirit. This is the vitality of poetry: it writes the secret heart of ancients, but speaks the parting sorrow of all.
Poem translator
Xu Yuanchong (许渊冲)
About the Poet
Meng Jiao (孟郊 751 - 814), a native of Deqing, Zhejiang Province, was a renowned poet of the Mid-Tang Dynasty. In his early years, he repeatedly failed the imperial examinations and only obtained the jinshi degree at the age of forty-six. He held minor posts such as Sheriff of Liyang, living a life of poverty and hardship. In his later years, he suffered the loss of his son and died while en route to a new official post. His poetry is renowned for its "bitter chanting" style, and he was often mentioned alongside Jia Dao, with Su Shi coining the famous phrase: "Jiao is lean, Jia is thin." His yuefu (Music Bureau) poems inherited the tradition of Du Fu and paved the way for Yuan Zhen and Bai Juyi, establishing a unique and distinctive place in the history of Tang poetry.
