This one-story inn at Nan-king ferry Is a miserabk lodging-place for the night - But across the dead moon's ebbing tide, Lights from Kua-chou beckon on the river.
Original Poem:
「题金陵渡」
金陵津渡小山楼,一宿行人自可愁。
潮落夜江斜月里,两三星火是瓜洲。
Interpretation:
This is a small poem written by the poet when he was roaming in Jiangnan, writing lonely and despondent travel feelings.
The first two lines: I stayed at night in the small mountain building at the Jinling Ferry Terminal, tossing and turning, and my heart was full of traveler's sorrows.
These two lines are the introduction, which is plain and easy, and then naturally introduces the reader to a good situation.
The last two lines: the tide of the night river immersed in the light of the slanting moon, a few starbursts flickering in the distance is the place of Guazhou.
The poet stood on a small hill and looked at the night river from afar, only to see that the moon in the sky was already slanting in the west, and the cold tide on the river was beginning to fall. A dark night above the river, there is nothing to see, but the poet is in the hazy west slanting moonlight, to view the tide of the scene. The tide of the night river immersed in the light of the slanting moon, in the smoke on the background of the cold water, suddenly saw a few stars flickering in the distance, coupled with the picture of the distant, this wonderful night river painting is also completed.
The language of the poem is simple and natural, describing the wonderful picturesque night scene on the river as quiet and dismal, light and fresh.
Poem translator:
Kiang Kanghu
About the poet:
Zhang Hu (张祜) was a native of Hebei in 849 AD. - 849, a native of Hebei, never held an official position in his life, but was a good traveler of mountains and waters. Zhang Hu's poems are mostly about landscapes and famous places.