Charm of a Maiden Singer-Farewell to a Friend at Post House
- Poetry of Wen Tianxiang

《念奴娇·驿中别友人》
Charm of a Maiden Singer-Farewell to a Friend at Post House by Wen Tianxiang
中文原文( Chinese )

水天空阔，恨东风，不借世间英物。

蜀鸟吴花残照里，忍见荒城颓壁。

铜雀春情，金人秋泪，此恨凭谁雪？

堂堂剑气，斗牛空认奇杰。

那信江海余生，南行万里，属扁舟齐发。

正为鸥盟留醉眼，细看涛生云灭。

睨柱吞嬴，回旗走懿，千古冲冠发。

伴人无寐，秦淮应是孤月。

English Translation

The water's boundless like the skies,

But favourable wind won't rise,

To our regret,to help our heroes on the earth.

The cuckoo cries

Mid Southern flowers in setting sun.

How could I bear to see the ruined town o'errun 

By the Tartarian foe！

The captives have no mirth,

E'en golden statues that should hear 

The story would drop tear on tear.

Who would not strike a vengeful blow?

The sword once shed a vengeful light,

But,swordsman beaten,when would it again shine bright?


Who would believe,confiding our lives to a boat,

Together we could keep afloat

On river and on sea,

Sailing southward for miles,then at last we were free!

We made our plan with our allies 

To wait with drunken eyes

For waves and clouds dark to appear 

And disappear.

Against the chieftain of the foe,

I would fight in weal and in woe.

Wrath sets my hair on end 

And it will never die.

Sleepless at night,you would only have for friend 

The lonely moon on the River Qinhuai.

Wen Tianxiang (1236-1282)passed the civil service examinations with the highest honour in 1256 and was appointed prime minister in the court of Song Dynasty.Famous leader of anti-Tartarian forces,he was defeated in 1276 but by luck he and Liu Yan escaped in a boat sailing south on the sea,and they planned to reorganize loyal forces to turn the tide.Again beaten and captured in 1278,they were sent under escort to Yanjing (present-day Beijing).Passing by the River Qinhuai at Jinling(presant-day Nanjing),Liu Yen should go no farther and Wen Tian-xiang wrote for him this lyric in which he regretted that the situation was not favourable for the anti-Tartarian forces.He could not bear the sight of the ruined town of Jinling nor the cuckoo's song which seemed to say:"Better go home!"Having arrived at Yanjing,he would never yield to the chieftain of the Tartars and was imprisoned for three or four long years.At last he sacrificed his life heroically in a public place.The swordsman in this lyric refers to the poet himself.

- Last updated: 2023-12-12 23:09:41
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Why Chinese poems is so special?
The most distinctive features of Chinese poetry are: concision- many poems are only four lines, and few are much longer than eight; ambiguity- number, tense and parts of speech are often undetermined, creating particularly rich interpretative possibilities; and structure- most poems follow quite strict formal patterns which have beauty in themselves as well as highlighting meaningful contrasts.
How to read a Chinese poem?
Like an English poem, but more so. Everything is there for a reason, so try to find that reason. Think about all the possible connotations, and be aware of the different possibilities of number and tense. Look for contrasts: within lines, between the lines of each couplet and between successive couplets. Above all, don't worry about what the poet meant- find your meaning.

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