Chinese poetry is an integral part of ancient Chinese language and culture. Over a long course of Chinese history, thousands of poems have been composed by numerous Chinese poets. One of my favorite ancient Chinese poets is Li Bai (李白, 701-762) of the Tang Dynasty. There are over 20 poems of Li Bai that are close to my heart, including Jing Ye Si (静夜思), and Zeng Wang Lun (赠汪伦).
In this post, let’s learn the poem Zeng Wang Lun, a poem that virtually everyone in China knows pretty well. I will be sharing with you the poem in the form of simplified Chinese characters, pinyin romanization, and English translation. The poem is very interesting, especially if you know the background. Even if you are HSK Level 1 student, you should be able to decode the Chinese characters in this poem. 🙂
The poem Zeng Wang Lun describes a very close and touching friendship of Li Bai with Wang Lun (汪伦, 722-762). The poem was composed in the year 755, during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty (唐玄宗, 685-762).
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Poem Zeng Wang Lun (赠汪伦) – in Chinese
李白乘舟将欲行，
忽闻岸上踏歌声。
桃花潭水深千尺，
不及汪伦送我情。
Poem Zeng Wang Lun – Pinyin Romanization (拼音)
Lǐ bái chéng zhōu jiāng yù xíng,
Hū wén àn shàng tà gē sheng.
Táo huā tán shuǐ shēn qiān chǐ,
Bù jí wāng lún song wǒ qíng.
Poem Zeng Wang Lun – English Translation (译文)
Li Bai is about to ride on the boat,
Then, he suddenly heard the sound of singing on the shore.
Although the depth of the Peach Blossom Pool is thousands of feet,
It’s not as deep as Wang Lun’s love for Li Bai.
Appreciation (赏析)
Li Bai was a very famous personality during his lifetime. Wang Lun, a Hunagshan native, always fancied meeting Li Bai as he loved meeting famous people. When Wang Lun became the magistrate of Jing County (泾县), he once invited Li Bai to visit the County, located in the modern Xuancheng city of Anhui province (今安徽宣城市泾县). Li Bai loved drinking wine and visiting scenic places. In the invitation letter, Wang Lun had assured Li Bai that Jing County was a scenic place with lots of wine and he would love that place.
To his surprise, Li Bai agreed to visit the Jing County after receiving Wang Lun’s invitation. Well, Li Bai trusted the invitation and came to visit the Jing County. As a matter of fact, the promise has been just a lie. Jing County was neither a scenic place nor the County was not famous for wine. However, Li Bai, upon his arrival in Jing, liked the hospitality of Wang Lun, and the two became close friends in a short period of time. Wang Lun often brewed fine wine for Li Bai. They’d often drink wine together and chat till late.
The character 赠 (zèng) in the title of the poem means “present” or “gift”. The poem was written by Li Bai as a gift to his local friend (Wang Lun) to show Li Bai’s gratitude to Wang Lun’s hospitality and sincere friendship. Wang Lun hosted Li Bai at his home at the Jing County. During his stay, Li Bai and Wang Lun developed a close friendship. While departing from Jing County, Li Bai wrote this poem. Hence, the poem’s title can also be interpreted and “Gift to Wang Lun” or “Farewell to Wang Lun”.
The first line of the poem describes the scene when Li Bai is about to depart from the Jing Country by a boat at from the shore of Taohua Tan (桃花潭, Peach blossom pool — located in the Jing County). The second line describes that Li Bai heard the sound of celebration on the shore. Well, Li Bai hadn’t informed Wang Lun of his departure, so Wang Lun’s appearance surprised Li Bai. Wang Lun’s arrival was indeed unexpected, indicating that Wang Lun somehow knew about Li Bai’s departure from the Jing Country. What’s more, Wang Lun had prepared a farewell celebration for Li Bai. So, Li Bai was deeply touched. In the third and fourth lines, Li Bai compares the depth of Taohua Tan to that of the love of Wang Lun for Li Bai and conveys that the pool, despite being “a thousand feet deep”, is not as deep as the love of Wang Lun for Li Bai—hence, the friendship between Wang Lun and Li Bai must be even deeper.
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