Window on Chinese Poetry |
"A farewell to Meng Haoran on his way to Yangzhou" by Li Bai You have left me behind, old friend, at the Yellow Crane Terrace, on your way to visit Yangzhou in the misty month of flowers; your sail, a single shadow, becomes one with the blue sky, till now I see only the river, on its way to heaven. Adapted from a translation by Witter Bynner |
My Comment and another reader's comments on "A farewell to Meng Haoran" by Li Bai. This poem is a real favourite among Chinese peopleand has also been translated into English many times. All the translations are interesting. They demonstrate just what a range of possible meanings can be suggested by a small poem in the Chinese language. They also suggest just how beautiful and creative the poem is. The lines have a suggestion of death and the soul's passage to heaven; sad partings can seem to have that association. It could also be a bit of a play on the idea of the poet as "an immortal by the river", which was a role that the poets of the time adopted for themselves, sometimes tongue-in-cheek. The poem also reminds me of a wonderful day in Augusta, a small town in the south west of Western Australia, when the sea calmed off and the estuary and the river merged seamlessly together. Meng Haoran was a skilful poet of the era. It is interesting that so many of the Tang Dynasty poets knew one another and wrote about and to eachother. Merv Daw I remembered that the first time I read this poem, I was in Primary 5. I was too small to understand it. I only thought it was so pitiful for the poet to say goodbye to his best friend, and I also hoped that this would never happen to me. Nevertheless, I faced this problem when I was in Secondary 4. My best friend is now in Canada. I met her when we were studying in Secondary 1. We always had a wonderful time. Her family encouraged her to study overseas. I didn�t know whether I should encourage her to study overseas or not. But I knew if I told her I didn�t want her to go, she might not go. At that moment, I was certain that I was her best friend. I had to think about her future, so I also encouraged her to study in Canada. After encouraging her, I was very sad. I was worried that we would not be as friendly as in the old days. But now, I have discovered that my worries were not necessary, because we now still keep in touch. And she always is my best friend. Our friendship will not fade although we are separated, far away. Though we can�t see each other every day, the fact is not as bad as what we thought. To keep this friendship is not easy, so I definitely will treasure it. Amy Tsang The poem is presented below: |