Sailing far off from Ching-men Ferry,
Soon you will be with people in the south,
Where the mountains end and the plains begin
And the river winds through wilderness.
The moon is lifted like a mi rror,
Sea-clouds gleam l i ke palaces,
And the water has brought you a touch of home
To draw your boat three hundred miles.
Original Poem:
「渡荆门送别」
李白
渡远荆门外，来从楚国游。
山随平野尽，江入大荒流。
月下飞天镜，云生结海楼。
仍怜故乡水，万里送行舟。
Interpretation:
This is a work written by Li Bai when he went from Sichuan to Hubei and sent off his fellow boatmen at Jingmen to continue his journey to the east. The poet traveled far away from Jingmen, looking at the magnificent mountains and rivers, and was in high spirits, and used this poem to express his emotions when he had just left Shu.
The first two lines: I took a boat across the river to the distant Jingmen outside, to visit the territory of the state of Chu during the Warring States period. Explaining that I have traveled far to cross the Jingmen Gate to visit the territory of Chu.
The third and fourth sentences: The high mountains fade away with the appearance of the flat and vast plains, and the river runs through the vast and boundless fields. Describe the marvelous beauty seen when crossing the Jingmen Mountain: the high mountains gradually disappeared with the emergence of the flat and vast plains, and the river ran in the vast and endless fields. The poet realistically writes out the characteristics of the natural landscape and its meteorological broadness and soaring charm.
The fifth and sixth lines: the reflection of the moon in the water seems to be like a heavenly mirror flying down from the sky, the clouds rise and change, forming a mirage. The description of the moon’s reflection in the water as if it were a celestial mirror flying down from the sky, with clouds rising and changing, forming a mirage, is very whimsical. It not only shows the magnificence and colorfulness of nature, but also reflects the poet’s joyful mood and open-mindedness when he first came to the plains from Shu. In the poem, there is a day scene and a night scene, which can be seen that the ship stopped at Jingmen for more than one night.
The last two lines: I still love the water from my hometown, not far to send me eastbound boat. Is the poet in the appreciation of the Jingmen area scenery, the face of that flow through the hometown of the river produced by the homesickness. The poet did not directly say that he misses his hometown, but said that the water of his hometown sent him all the way far away.
The Yangtze River flows through Jingmen, and there are no more dangerous mountains on both sides of the river to constrain it, but rather, it runs to the boundless wilderness, which makes people suddenly feel that heaven and earth are wide, and their minds are also opened up. The poet’s fresh and elegant strokes vividly depicted the magnificent situation and marvelous scenery seen along the river to the east, the whole poem is open, such as the great river running, the tone is light and cheerful, the imagination is magnificent, full of positive life atmosphere.
Poem translator:
Xu Yuan-chong(许渊冲)
About the poet:
Li Bai (李白), 701 ~ 762 A.D., whose ancestral home was in Gansu, was preceded by Li Guang, a general of the Han Dynasty. Tang poetry is one of the brightest constellations in the history of Chinese literature, and one of the brightest stars is Li Bai.
