I remember the fine land of Lingyang in bygone days,
With Hsieh Tiao's green hills and Li Bai's towers ablaze.
Only the thoughts on the stream at sunset still stay—
A tavern sign's shadow falls where spring streams flow away.
Original Poem
「怀宛陵旧游」
陆龟蒙
陵阳佳地昔年游，谢脁青山李白楼。
唯有日斜溪上思，酒旗风影落春流。
Interpretation
This poem was written by Lu Guimeng in remembrance of his past travels in Xuancheng. Wanling, present-day Xuancheng in Anhui, has since ancient times been a renowned scenic area in Jiangnan, home to such famous sites as Lingyang Mountain, Wanxi Stream, and Juxi Stream. During the Southern Qi Dynasty, Xie Tiao served as governor of Xuancheng and built "Xie's Tower"; later generations, honoring his landscape poetry, acclaimed him as "the ancestor of landscape poetry." In the High Tang, Li Bai also visited Xuancheng, climbed Xie's Tower multiple times, and left behind widely cherished verses. Living in the late Tang—a time of turmoil and intense factional strife—Lu Guimeng did not advance in official career and often sought solace in landscapes with friends like Pi Rixiu, expressing his feelings through poetry. In this short poem, he recalls past travels, using scenery and historical sites to convey his admiration for earlier worthies and lament his own life circumstances.
First Couplet: "陵阳佳地昔年游，谢脁青山李白楼。"
Língyáng jiā dì xīnián yóu, Xiè Tiǎo qīngshān Lǐ Bái lóu.
In those past years, I toured the fine places of Lingyang;
Xie Tiao’s green mountains, Li Bai’s tavern tower.
The opening couplet names the remembered place, diving straight into the theme. The poet uses sites associated with Xie Tiao and Li Bai to evoke Wanling’s beauty, not only creating a rich historical and cultural atmosphere but also expressing reverence for past masters. Green mountains and a tavern tower, though natural and human traces, gleam with the glory of Xie and Li, endowing Wanling with lofty spiritual significance.
Second Couplet: "唯有日斜溪上思，酒旗风影落春流。"
Wéiyǒu rì xié xī shàng sī, jiǔqí fēngyǐng luò chūn liú.
Only the slanting sun on the stream stirs thought;*
The tavern sign’s wind-blown shadow falls into the spring flow.
The latter couplet shifts to concrete depiction—a tranquil and poetic scene. The poet’s deepest memory is not of lively excursions but of the lonely sight of the setting sun, flowing stream, and fluttering tavern sign. This implies reflections on time’s passage and life’s unpredictability. Flowing light and swaying waves evoke a sense of bewilderment, echoing the poet’s own rootless state.
Holistic Appreciation
Though short, this work is rich in atmosphere. The first couplet, highlighting sites linked to Xie Tiao and Li Bai, adds layers of cultural depth to Wanling’s landscapes. The final couplet meticulously portrays a scene connecting "slanting sun," "tavern sign," and "spring flow" into a picture of yearning for the past. The poem expresses both admiration for historical figures and lament for personal circumstances. Living in the turbulent late Tang with no official prospects, Lu Guimeng could only seek solace in nature. Using memories of Wanling as a vehicle, he conveys sighs over the past and the present and the fleetingness of time. The poetic mood is subtle and profound, reflecting the late Tang poets’ tendency to express frustration through yearning for antiquity.
Artistic Merits
- Yearning for past and present, blending real and imagined: The poem includes figures like Xie Tiao and Li Bai alongside the poet’s personal experience of the stream at sunset, interweaving reality and imagination, allowing readers to feel both historical weight and contemporary reflection across time.
- Scene and emotion fused, feeling embodied in objects: The "slanting sun," "tavern sign," and "spring flow" in the latter couplet are ordinary sights but become mediums for reflection in the poet’s hand. Description is expression; the image mirrors the heart.
- Refined diction, vivid imagery: Words like "slanting" (斜 xié) and "falls" (落 luò) are exceptionally evocative, depicting not only the dynamic beauty of declining light and reflections but also hinting at the passage of time and life’s vicissitudes.
- Subdued style, subtle and lasting: Lu Guimeng’s poetry often carries personal lament; though depicting travel, this poem uses the past to reflect the present, its restrained style and lingering meaning align with the late Tang tone of melancholy introspection.
Insights
This poem is not only a recollection of famous sites but also the poet’s portrayal of using the past to reflect the present. It reminds us: what makes historical landscapes moving is not only their scenic beauty but also the enduring cultural value bestowed by the spirit and verses of earlier worthies. Through ancient sites, the poet expresses reverence for predecessors and his own sense of loss, demonstrating the profound power of the "yearning for the past" poetic tradition. For modern readers, it inspires us to seek not only natural beauty but also the spiritual strength embedded in history and culture, finding resonance for our own inner states within them.
About the poet
Lu Guimeng (陆龟蒙 ？– c. 881 CE), a native of Suzhou, Jiangsu, was a Late Tang dynasty writer and agronomist. After failing the imperial examinations, he retreated to a reclusive life in Puli, Songjiang. He formed a famous literary partnership with the poet Pi Rixiu, and the pair are often referred to collectively as "Pi-Lu." His poetry is known for its social satire and a style that is incisive yet subtly restrained. His inclusion in the Biographies of Talents of the Tangunderscores his significance. The modern writer Lu Xun famously praised his essays, noting that they provided "a sharp radiance piercing through a world of muddle". Lu Guimeng is regarded as a uniquely distinctive voice in the literary scene of the late Tang.
