作者： 李白 （Author: Li Bai, 8th century)

渡遠荆門外， travel far Jing Men outside
來從楚國游。 come follow Chu nation travel 
山隨平野盡， mountain follows flat field end
江入大荒流。river enters big wilderness flowing 
月下飛天鏡， moon descend flying sky mirror
雲生結海樓。 cloud form congeal ocean tower
仍憐故鄉水， still have heart for old village water
萬里送行舟。 ten thousand li send travel boat

Translation

I’ve traveled even beyond Jingmen now
In search of the Chu nation. 

The mountains have given way to plains 
And the Yangtze flows into a great wilderness.

Mirrored in the water, the moon flies through the sky,
Rising above the sea, clouds form a tower.

I still love the waters of my old home town
They’ve carried my boat for 10,000 li.  

Translation Notes

This poem is written by Li Bai, a renowned Tang Dynasty poet who has a vigorous and carefree character, has traveled to many places and is famous for his wild and romantic imaginations in some of his poems.  He and his friend Du Fu were sometimes referred to together as “Li Du” and considered the two most distinguished poets in the flourishing period of the Tang Dynasty. The first couplet tells how far the poet has come, and the last couplet tells us that he still loves and feels attached to his home town. We translated those lines in simple, personal language and took the liberty of adding “even” to the first line to emphasize the young man’s sense of wonder at having travelled so far from home. We did not use this personal language in the second and third couplets so that the majesty of their images could stand in contrast to the beginning and ending of the poem.