Parting at a Wine-shop in Nan-King By Li Bai

A wind, bringing willow-cotton, sweetens the shop,
And a girl from Wu, pouring wine, urges me to share it
With my comrades of the city who are here to see me off;
And as each of them drains his cup, I say to him in parting,
Oh, go and ask this river running to the east
If it can travel farther than a friend's love!

Original Poem

「金陵酒肆留别」
风吹柳花满店香，吴姬压酒劝客尝。
金陵子弟来相送，欲行不行各尽觞。
请君试问东流水，别意与之谁短长？

李白

Interpretation

This poem was composed as Li Bai prepared to leave Jinling (modern-day Nanjing), where his friends held a farewell banquet for him. Using the beautiful spring scenery and the lively atmosphere of the tavern, the poet expresses his reluctance to part with his friends. This is a classic farewell poem, blending the sorrow of parting with a sense of free-spiritedness and boldness.

First Couplet: “风吹柳花满店香，吴姬压酒劝客尝。”
Fēng chuī liǔ huā mǎn diàn xiāng, wú jī yā jiǔ quàn kè cháng.
The wind blows willow catkins, filling the tavern with fragrance; the Wu maidens press wine and urge the guests to drink.

The poet first paints a vivid picture of a spring tavern. The wind carries willow catkins, and the air is filled with the intoxicating aroma of wine, creating a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere. The "willow catkins" not only describe the scenery but also subtly convey the melancholy of parting in late spring.

Second Couplet: “金陵子弟来相送，欲行不行各尽觞。”
Jīn líng zǐ dì lái xiāng sòng, yù xíng bù xíng gè jìn shāng.
The young friends of Jinling come to see me off; as we prepare to part, we raise our cups again and again, reluctant to say goodbye.

This couplet depicts the lively scene of friends bidding farewell. "Reluctant to part" captures the conflicting emotions of the moment—though separation is inevitable, no one wants to say goodbye easily, so they toast repeatedly to savor the last moments of togetherness.

Third Couplet: “请君试问东流水，别意与之谁短长？”
Qǐng jūn shì wèn dōng liú shuǐ, bié yì yǔ zhī shuí duǎn cháng?
Please ask the east-flowing river: compared to its endless flow, is my sorrow of parting shorter or longer?

Moved by the scenery, the poet uses the river as a metaphor, comparing his profound sorrow to the endless flow of the river. This vivid imagery makes the emotions more tangible. The river's ceaseless flow symbolizes the passage of time and the inevitability of parting, while also hinting at the poet's reflections on the impermanence of life.

Overall Appreciation

Through vivid scene descriptions, the poem intertwines the sorrow of parting with the joy of farewell. It captures both the bustling spring scenery of Jinling and the lively atmosphere of friends seeing him off, culminating in the comparison of his sorrow of parting to the flowing river, deepening the poem's imagery. By using the farewell banquet as a backdrop, the poet expresses his reluctance to part with his friends while also reflecting on the impermanence of human connections.

Writing Characteristics

1. Emotion Woven into Scenery: The poet integrates the sorrow of parting into the spring tavern and the flowing river, making the emotions more profound and the imagery more evocative.
2. Clever Structure, Layered Progression: The poem begins with scenery, moves to the farewell scene, and ends with the river metaphor, building the emotional expression layer by layer in a cohesive structure.
3. Fresh Language, Folk Song Style: The poem's fluent and natural language carries a strong folk song flavor, making it intimate and moving, both simple and emotionally powerful.
4. River Metaphor Enhances Emotional Impact: The concluding metaphor makes the sorrow of parting more vivid and relatable, adding a sense of openness and boldness to the poem's tone.

Insights

This poem showcases the deep bonds of friendship and the complex emotions of parting. Life is unpredictable, and meetings and separations are inevitable, but like the east-flowing river, friendship can endure. Although the poet feels the sorrow of parting, he does not succumb to despair. Instead, he channels his emotions into drinking and poetry, displaying a free-spirited and open-minded attitude. This approach to handling emotions is something we can learn from when facing farewells in our own lives.

Poem translator

Kiang Kanghu

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.