Where long ago a yellow crane bore a sage to heaven,
Nothing is left now but the Yellow Crane Terrace.
The yellow crane never revisited earth,
And white clouds are flying without him for ever.
...Every tree in Hanyang becomes clear in the water,
And Parrot Island is a nest of sweet grasses;
But I look toward home, and twilight grows dark
With a mist of grief on the river waves.
Original Poem:
「黄鹤楼」
崔颢
昔人已乘黄鹤去， 此地空余黄鹤楼。
黄鹤一去不复返， 白云千载空悠悠。
晴川历历汉阳树， 芳草萋萋鹦鹉洲。
日暮乡关何处是？ 烟波江上使人愁。
Interpretation:
The Yellow Crane Tower is a resort for visiting, and Roy Cui’s poem expresses his nostalgia for the past.
The first four lines describe the nostalgia for the past. In the past, the immortal has left by the yellow crane, and there is only an empty Yellow Crane Tower here. The yellow crane will never come back, and the blue sky has only been filled with white clouds for hundreds of years. An ancient building with a long history, a beautiful myth and legend, a few points of prosperity and bustle after the loss and despair. Poet around the origin of the Yellow Crane Tower repeatedly chanting, seemingly out of context, the language of vulgar white, but a breath of fresh air, Wen potential through. An empty Yellow Crane Tower thus presents a deep cultural heritage, an unusual climb into the lamentation of the ancient and modern.
The last four sentences are written on the Yellow Crane Tower. The beautiful scenery in front of me is like a picture, but inside I can’t suppress my nostalgia. The clear earth, the green trees of the distant Hanyang are vivid in my mind; on the Parrot Island, the luxuriant grass is like Yin. Wide-open vision, vibrant and bright scenery, as a distant view of the Yellow Crane Tower overlooking Hanyang, overlooking the Yangtze River, the upright momentum. That is, the scene, the soft beauty of twilight and homesickness are intertwined: the dusk mist quietly gathered in the center of the river, nostalgia also surged in the poet’s heart; the river is dense, nostalgia clinging to the misty smoke and waves. The misty waves at sunset and the long white clouds correspond to each other, forming a distant and remote mood.
This poem was famous at that time. Legend has it that when Li Bai climbed the Yellow Crane Tower, he was asked to write a poem, and he said, “There is a scene in front of me that I can’t say, and Roy Cui wrote a poem on it.”
Poem translator:
Kiang Kanghu
About the poet:
Cui Hao (崔颢), A.D. ? – 754, a native of Kaifeng, Henan Province. He was admitted as a scholar in 723 AD. At that time, Cui Hao was well known, along with Wang Changling, Gao Shi, Meng Haoran, and Wang Wei.
