Tang poem · five-character regulated verse唐诗 · 五言律诗

liú留bié别wáng王wéi维

mèng孟hào浩rán然Meng Haoran · Tang唐

A Parting Poem for Wang Wei

jì寂jì寂jìng竟hé何dài待

zhāo朝zhāo朝kōng空zì自guī归

yù欲xún寻fāng芳cǎo草qù去

xī惜yǔ与gù故rén人wéi违

dāng当lù路shuí谁xiāng相jiǎ假

zhī知yīn音shì世suǒ所xī稀

zhǐ只yīng应shǒu守jì寂mò寞

huán还yǎn掩gù故yuán园fēi扉

Underlined words have notes: tap one. The Pinyin button below shows or hides all pinyin. 一 and 不 are marked with the tone you actually say.字下有虚线的，点开有注释。下方的“拼音”按钮可以显示或隐藏全部拼音。“一”“不”标的是实际读出来的变调。

The corpus gives the title as "A Parting Poem for Censor Wang Wei", and the seventh line with two different characters for "only" and "lonely". Common editions use the shorter title and the more usual characters. The meaning is the same.

资料库题目作《留别王侍御维》，正文末联作“秪应守索寞”。通行本题作《留别王维》，正文作“只应守寂寞”。“秪”和“只”意思相同。

Line by line逐句翻译

寂寂竟何待Lonely and ignored, what am I still waiting for?冷冷清清的，我到底还在等什么？
朝朝空自归Every day I go out, and every day I come back empty-handed.天天出门，天天空着手回来。
欲寻芳草去I want to go home and live quietly among the fragrant grass,我想回家乡去，过安静的日子，
惜与故人违but it pains me to part from you, my old friend.只可惜要和老朋友你分别。
当路谁相假Who among the men in power will lend me a hand?朝廷里当权的人，谁肯帮我一把？
知音世所稀True friends who understand me are rare in this world.真正懂我的朋友，世上实在太少。
只应守寂寞I can only keep to my quiet, lonely life,我只好守着冷清的日子，
还掩故园扉go back, and close the door of my old home.回去关上老家的门。

Words字词注释

寂寂jì jì: jì jì: quiet and lonely, with no one paying attention.寂寂：冷冷清清，没人理会。
竟何待jìng hé dài: jìng hé dài: what am I still waiting for, after all?竟何待：到底还在等什么呢？
朝朝zhāo zhāo: zhāo zhāo: every day.朝朝：每天。
空自归kōng zì guī: kōng zì guī: to come back alone, empty-handed.空自归：白白地一个人回来，什么也没得到。
寻芳草xún fāng cǎo: xún fāng cǎo: to look for fragrant grass. It stands for going home to live quietly away from the world.寻芳草：去找长满香草的地方，比喻回家乡去隐居。
违wéi: wéi: to part, to leave.违：分开，离别。
故人gù rén: gù rén: an old friend, here Wang Wei.故人：老朋友，这里指王维。
当路dāng lù: dāng lù: those in power at court.当路：当权的人，在朝廷里掌权的人。
相假xiāng jiǎ: xiāng jiǎ: to help me, to lift me up. Jiǎ means to lend a hand.相假：帮助我，提拔我。假，借助、给予。
知音zhī yīn: zhī yīn: a friend who truly understands you. In an old story, only Zhong Ziqi understood Bo Ya's music, so a close friend is called a zhī yīn, "one who knows the tune".知音：真正懂你的朋友。古时伯牙弹琴，只有钟子期听得懂，后来就把知心朋友叫知音。
世所稀shì suǒ xī: shì suǒ xī: rare in this world.世所稀：世上很少有。
只应zhǐ yīng: zhǐ yīng: can only, have no choice but to.只应：只能，只好。
守寂寞shǒu jì mò: shǒu jì mò: to live a quiet, lonely life.守寂寞：守着冷清的日子。
掩yǎn: yǎn: to close.掩：关上。
故园扉gù yuán fēi: gù yuán fēi: the door of my old home. Fēi means door.故园扉：老家的门。扉，门。

How to read it读音

朝zhāo: Here zhāo zhāo means every day. The character means morning, so it is read zhāo.朝朝：天天。这里的“朝”是早晨的意思，读 zhāo。
朝zhāo: As above, read zhāo.同上，读 zhāo。
还huán: Here it means to go back, so it is read huán.还：回去，读 huán。

Background创作背景

When Meng Haoran was about forty, he went to Chang'an to take the top civil service exam, and failed. He stayed in the capital for a while hoping for a post, but that failed too. During this time he became close friends with Wang Wei. Before he left Chang'an to go home to Xiangyang, he wrote this poem for Wang Wei. It tells of his disappointment and how hard it was to leave his friend. It is usually dated to around 729.

孟浩然四十岁左右到长安考进士，没有考中。他在长安住了一段时间，想找机会做官，也没有成功。在这期间，他和王维成了好朋友。离开长安回襄阳老家之前，他写了这首诗送给王维，说出自己的失望和对朋友的不舍。一般认为写于开元十七年（729年）前后。

The poet作者

Meng Haoran (689–740) came from Xiangyang. He was a famous Tang poet of hills, rivers and farm life, and is often named together with Wang Wei. He never held office. He spent most of his life living quietly at home, with some long journeys. Li Bai admired him and wrote, "I love Master Meng."

孟浩然（689—740），襄阳人，唐代著名的山水田园诗人，和王维并称“王孟”。他一生没有做过官，大部分时间在家乡隐居，也到各地游历。李白很佩服他，写过“吾爱孟夫子”。

The mood意境

This poem speaks very plainly, like pouring out your troubles to a close friend. The first two lines are a question to himself: waiting like this every day, what am I waiting for? "Every day I come back empty-handed" shows him hitting one wall after another. Lines three and four show a pull in two directions: he wants to go home, but he does not want to leave his friend. Lines five and six hurt the most. No one in power will help, and people who understand him are so few. These lines also thank Wang Wei, because Wang Wei is that rare true friend. In the end the poet decides to go home and close his door on a lonely life. The voice is calm, but deep hurt lies underneath.

这首诗说话很直白，像在对好朋友诉苦。开头两句是问自己：天天这样等，到底在等什么？“朝朝空自归”写出了一次次碰壁的样子。三四句写心里的矛盾：想回家，又舍不得朋友。五六句是全诗最痛的地方：当权的人没人帮忙，懂我的人又这么少。这两句也是在感谢王维，因为王维就是那个少有的知音。最后诗人决定回去关上家门，过冷清的日子。语气平静，可是里面藏着很深的委屈。