Tang poem · seven-character regulated verse唐诗 · 七言律诗

sòng送wèi魏wàn万zhī之jīng京

lǐ李qí颀Li Qi · Tang唐

Seeing Wei Wan Off to the Capital

zhāo朝wén闻yóu游zǐ子chàng唱lí离gē歌

zuó昨yè夜wēi微shuāng霜chū初dù渡hé河

hóng鸿yàn雁bù不kān堪chóu愁lǐ里tīng听

yún云shān山kuàng况shì是kè客zhōng中guò过

guān关chéng城shù树sè色cuī催hán寒jìn近

yù御yuàn苑zhēn砧shēng声xiàng向wǎn晚duō多

mò莫jiàn见cháng长ān安xíng行lè乐chù处

kōng空lìng令suì岁yuè月yì易cuō蹉tuó跎

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。

In line three the corpus uses an old variant form of yan (wild goose); common editions use the standard form. The meaning is the same.

语料第三句作“鸿鴈”，“鴈”是“雁”的异体字，通行本作“鸿雁”。

Line by line逐句翻译

朝闻游子唱离歌This morning I heard you, the traveler, sing a song of parting.早晨听到你这远行人唱起离别的歌，
昨夜微霜初渡河Last night a thin frost fell, and you have just crossed the river.昨夜下了薄霜，你刚渡过黄河。
鸿雁不堪愁里听When you are sad, you cannot bear the cries of the wild geese,心里正愁，哪受得了听大雁的叫声，
云山况是客中过let alone when you pass these cloudy mountains alone, far from home.何况是一个人在外，独自走过这云山。
关城树色催寒近At the pass, the changing leaves seem to hurry the cold along.关城的树叶变了颜色，好像在催促寒冬到来，
御苑砧声向晚多In the capital, the sound of pounding cloth grows as evening falls.长安城里，傍晚捣衣的声音越来越多。
莫见长安行乐处Do not see Chang'an only as a place for fun,不要以为长安只是个玩乐的地方，
空令岁月易蹉跎and let the good years slip away for nothing.白白地让大好时光轻易溜走。

Words字词注释

朝zhāo: zhāo: morning.朝：早晨。
游子yóu zǐ: yóu zǐ: someone traveling far from home. Here, Wei Wan.游子：离家远行的人，这里指魏万。
离歌lí gē: lí gē: a song of parting.离歌：离别时唱的歌。
微霜wēi shuāng: wēi shuāng: a thin frost.微霜：薄薄的霜。
初渡河chū dù hé: chū dù hé: having just crossed the Yellow River.初渡河：刚刚渡过黄河。
鸿雁hóng yàn: hóng yàn: wild geese. In autumn they fly south, and their cries sound lonely.鸿雁：大雁。秋天大雁往南飞，叫声让人觉得凄凉。
不堪bù kān: bù kān: cannot bear.不堪：受不了。
况是kuàng shì: kuàng shì: let alone, all the more when.况是：何况是。
客中kè zhōng: kè zhōng: while away from home, on a journey.客中：在外作客、旅行途中。
关城guān chéng: guān chéng: the town at the mountain pass, here the area around Tong Pass.关城：指潼关一带的城。
催寒近cuī hán jìn: cuī hán jìn: hurrying the cold closer. The yellowing leaves seem to say winter is coming.催寒近：催着寒冷快点到来。树叶变黄，好像在告诉人冬天快来了。
御苑yù yuàn: yù yuàn: the royal gardens, here meaning Chang'an.御苑：皇家园林，这里指长安。
砧声zhēn shēng: zhēn shēng: the sound of beating cloth. People laid cloth on a stone and pounded it with a stick. In autumn, when winter clothes were being made, this sound was everywhere.砧声：捣衣的声音。古人把衣料放在石板（砧）上用木棒捶打，秋天赶做冬衣，声音很多。
向晚xiàng wǎn: xiàng wǎn: toward evening.向晚：傍晚。
莫见mò jiàn: mò jiàn: do not only see.莫见：不要只看到。
行乐处xíng lè chù: xíng lè chù: places of fun and pleasure.行乐处：玩乐的地方。
空令kōng lìng: kōng lìng: in vain let.空令：白白地让。
蹉跎cuō tuó: cuō tuó: to let time slip away for nothing.蹉跎：时间白白浪费掉。

How to read it读音

朝zhāo: Here this character means morning, so it is read zhāo, not cháo.“朝”在这里是早晨，读 zhāo，不读 cháo。
过guò: Today it is read guò. It sits at a rhyme position; in old times it was read in the level tone, close to guō, rhyming with ge, he, duo and tuo.现在读 guò。这里在押韵的位置，古代读平声，和“歌、河、多、跎”押韵，近似 guō。

Background创作背景

Wei Wan, who later changed his name to Wei Hao, was a young man who greatly admired Li Bai. He once traveled a very long way to find Li Bai, and Li Bai even gave him his writings to put together into a collection. This time Wei Wan was leaving for the capital, Chang'an, and Li Qi, who was much older, wrote this poem to see him off. The frost, the wild geese and the sound of pounding cloth show it was late autumn. The year and the place of the farewell are no longer known.

魏万，后来改名魏颢，是一个很仰慕李白的年轻人，曾经走了很远的路去寻找李白，李白还把自己的诗文交给他编集。这次魏万要去京城长安，比他年长很多的李颀写了这首诗送他。诗里写到霜、大雁、捣衣声，可以看出是在深秋。具体在哪一年、在哪里送别，已经不清楚了。

The poet作者

Li Qi (about 690 to about 751) passed the imperial exam in the Kaiyuan years. He held only small posts, such as a county officer in Xinxiang, and later lived in retirement for a long time. He was good at poems about the frontier and about music, and he knew Wang Wei, Gao Shi and Wang Changling. This poem sounds like an elder giving advice to a younger friend, warm and earnest.

李颀（约690—约751），开元年间考中进士，做过新乡县尉这样的小官，后来长期隐居。他擅长写边塞诗和描写音乐的诗，和王维、高适、王昌龄都有交往。这首诗写得像一位长辈在叮嘱晚辈，亲切又语重心长。

The mood意境

The opening is unusual. It first tells of this morning's parting song, then of last night's frost and the river crossing. Telling time backwards brings out the mood of farewell at once. In the middle four lines, the poet imagines Wei Wan's journey for him: hearing the geese cry when he is sad, walking alone past cloudy mountains; the leaves at the pass turning yellow, the pounding of cloth in Chang'an growing thicker, winter on its way. Each scene is colder than the last, and the sadness of parting grows deeper with each line. The last two lines are an elder's advice: Chang'an is lively and full of fun, but do not just play and waste your best years. First deep feeling, then caring advice, like a warm letter from home.

开头很特别：先写今天早上的离歌，再写昨夜的霜和渡河，时间倒着说，离别的气氛一下子就出来了。中间四句，诗人替魏万想象路上的情景：愁的时候听到大雁叫，一个人走过云雾缭绕的山；关城的树叶黄了，长安的捣衣声越来越密，冬天要来了。景色一句比一句冷，离愁也一句比一句浓。最后两句是长辈的叮嘱：长安虽然热闹好玩，可别光顾着玩，把大好时光浪费了。前面是深情，后面是关心，像一封温暖的家书。