No longer on the wing,
Birds rest on garden trees.
They flutter and then sing
In harmony to please.
Have I no other friend?
It’s you I can’t forget.
I can’t attain my end.
How can I not regret?
Original Poem
「停云 · 其四」
陶渊明
翩翩飞鸟，息我庭柯。
敛翮闲止，好声相和。
岂无他人，念子实多。
愿言不获，抱恨如何！
Interpretation
Composed in the spring of 404 AD during Emperor An of Jin's reign, this work finds Tao Yuanming in contemplative seclusion at his hometown of Xunyang Chaisang (modern Jiujiang, Jiangxi). The Eastern Jin court had recently witnessed Huan Xuan's usurpation and Liu Yu's counterinsurgency, plunging the realm into chaos. Against this turbulent backdrop, the poet - physically separated from dear friends by war-torn roads - transforms his courtyard observations into profound meditations on connection and isolation.
First Couplet: "翩翩飞鸟，息我庭柯。"
Piān piān fēi niǎo, xī wǒ tíng kē.
Graceful birds alight, perching on my courtyard boughs.
This serene image of avian visitors establishes an immediate contrast: while birds move freely through the war-ravaged landscape, the poet remains earthbound. The very ease of their mobility underscores his constrained circumstances, imbuing the scene with quiet pathos.
Second Couplet: "敛翮闲止，好声相和。"
Liǎn hé xián zhǐ, hǎo shēng xiāng hè.
Folding wings at leisure, singing in perfect harmony.
The birds' communal roosting and antiphonal songs heighten the poet's sense of isolation. Their natural camaraderie becomes a mirror reflecting his severed human connections, transforming ornithological observation into existential metaphor.
Third Couplet: "岂无他人，念子实多。"
Qǐ wú tā rén, niàn zǐ shí duō.
Though others remain, for you alone I pine.
Here the poem's focus narrows from general solitude to specific longing. The admission that other companions exist yet fail to substitute for the absent friend reveals the irreducible singularity of true kinship.
Fourth Couplet: "愿言不获，抱恨如何！"
Yuàn yán bù huò, bào hèn rú hé!
Words yearned yet unshared - what torment this unfulfilled desire!
The concluding outburst lays bare the poet's anguish with startling directness. The rhetorical cry transforms the poem from meditation to lament, its emotional crescendo echoing across centuries.
Overall Appreciation
Tao's genius manifests in how he transmutes a simple backyard scene into profound philosophical inquiry. The birds' carefree existence serves not merely as contrast but as existential counterpoint - their instinctual togetherness highlighting human relationships' fragile contingency. The poem's structure moves deliberately from observation (couplets 1-2) through reflection (3) to visceral outcry (4), creating emotional momentum that belies its concise form.
Writing Characteristics
- Nature as Emotional Prism: The avian imagery operates on three levels - literal description, metaphorical contrast, and spiritual yearning.
- Classical Allusion: Echoes the Book of Songs' tradition of using natural phenomena to explore human dilemmas.
- Precision of Form: The four-character meter creates rhythmic cadences that mirror birds' movements - alternating between flight (lines 1,3) and rest (lines 2,4).
- Psychological Depth: Progresses from sensory perception to metaphysical inquiry, anticipating Tang dynasty lyrical techniques.
Insights
This fourth-century poem speaks powerfully to modern experiences of separation - whether through pandemics, migration, or political upheaval. Tao's recognition that some absences cannot be filled by mere proximity to others anticipates contemporary understandings of emotional specificity. His artistic transformation of frustration into creative expression offers an enduring model for processing dislocation through art.
The work ultimately suggests that true connection transcends physical presence - the very act of poetic composition becomes a bridge across impossible distances, making absence paradoxically present through language's alchemy.
Poem translator
Xu Yuan-chong (许渊冲)
About the poet
Tao Yuanming(陶渊明), 365–427 CE, was a poet, literary figure, fu writer, and essayist active during the late Eastern Jin and early Liu Song dynasties. Born in Chaisang (near present-day Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province), he pioneered a new genre of pastoral-themed literature, expressing profound philosophical insights through simple language. His poetic style became an enduring aesthetic standard in classical Chinese poetry.
