The travellers' parting-song sounds in the dawn.
Last night a first frost came over the river;
And the crying of the wildgeese grieves my sad heart
Bounded by a gloom of cloudy mountains…
Here in the Gate City, day will flush cold
And washing-flails quicken by the gardens at twilight -
How long shall the capital content you,
Where the months and the years so vainly go by?
Original Poem:
「送魏万之京」
李颀
朝闻游子唱骊歌， 昨夜微霜初度河。
鸿雁不堪愁里听， 云山况是客中过。
关城树色催寒近， 御苑砧声向晚多。
莫见长安行乐处， 空令岁月易蹉跎。
Interpretation:
This is a poem of farewell to a friend. Wei Wan was a later generation poet than Li Qi, but they seemed to be very close friends. Li Qi lived in Yingyang in his later years and often visited Luoyang, so this poem was probably written when the author was in Luoyang in his later years.
This poem describes the travelling mood of a traveller on his way to the capital, and it also implies a lot of feelings of the cycle of time and the urgency of time. Before the departure of the traveller, the first frost had fallen and the autumn was gloomy. The author then imagines the traveller singing a parting song, crossing the Yellow River at the beginning of frost on a cold night. Even the geese, which are used to seeing partings and migrations, feel very sad when they hear this song. The traveller crossed the mountains and came to Guanzhong. The leaves of the trees in Guanzhong had already been urged by the coldness of winter to put on their autumn colours, while the sound of pounding clothes in the imperial court of the palace became more and more intensive at night.
All of the above is the poet’s imaginings of this traveller’s journey to Chang’an alone. These lines express the poet’s concern for the traveller as an elder. And here, the poet reads out a word of advice: when you go to Chang’an, don’t always go to those places of pleasure, wasting your time and time.
