Category: Homesickness

In ancient Chinese poetry, homesickness is a recurring theme. Many of the ancient Chinese poets were also bureaucrats who embarked on long journeys for their official duties. These poets lived in a country with a robust central government that administered distant regions, yet the technology of the period didn’t allow easy travel. In this article, we’ve translated three Tang dynasty poems written by Wang Wei on homesickness.  

 

杂诗三首  Three Pieces of Miscellaneous Poems

王维         (Author: Wang Wei, 8th century)

其一         Number One

家住孟津河，home reside meng jin river
门对孟津口。door face meng jin ferry
常有江南船，often have river south boat
寄书家中否？ mail letter home inside no

 

Translation:

My home is on the Meng Jin River
Where I look out at the ferry.
Boats often come from the South.
Have you never mailed me a letter?

 

其二 Number Two

君自故乡来，you from old village come
应知故乡事。should know old village affairs
来日绮窗前，come day gorgeous window before
寒梅著花未？cold plum flower open flower or not

 

Translation:

You’ve come from my home town
And must know what happens there.
Tell me, has the cold plum flower
Opened beneath the lattice window?

 

其三 Number Three

已见寒梅发，already see cold plum flower open
复闻啼鸟声。again hear crying bird sound
心心视春草，heart heart look at spring grass
畏向玉阶生。afraid of towards jade stairs grow

 

Translation:

Already I’ve seen the cold plum flower open
And heard the birds crying again.
Oh my heart, the sadness of looking at the spring grass
And feeling afraid when it grows toward the marble stairs.

 

Translation notes:

The three poems were all penned by Wang Wei after the An Lushan rebellion, when he lived as a recluse near the Meng Jin area, far from his hometown. The first poem reflects the strong desire of a wife to hear from her husband. She resides along the Meng Jin River in the north, while her husband travels to the south. She hoped that a boat from the south would carry her husband’s letter, but her hope remained unfulfilled.

 

In the second poem, Wang Wei employs the “cold plum flower” as a symbol. This flower represents objects familiar to him from his hometown and serves to express his homesickness. The third poem employs the image of growing spring grass to convey Wang Wei’s deepening sense of longing for home. In the final line, the literal translation of “玉阶” would be “jade stairs.” We translate it into “marble stairs” rather than “jade stairs” as we think Western readers would understand a marble staircase, but probably not a jade one.

 

On a separate note, my friend Vickie and I have established a Substack dedicated to classical Chinese poems. Our Substack offers a deep historical context for the poems and organizes related poems into groups. We invite you to subscribe to our Substack (with free subscription) for regular updates featuring new translations and commentary articles.

There have been several instances in Chinese history when multiple members of the same family became renowned for their poetry. One such instance was with the Cao clan during the Three Kingdoms period (220 ACE to 280 ACE). The brilliant warlord Cao Cao, together with his two sons, Cao Pi and Cao Zhi, all wrote poems that are still read and studied today. The four poems that follow were written by Cao Cao’s two sons, Cao Pi and Cao Zhi. Though the two princes are brothers, the styles of their poems are very different from each other.

 

白马篇  On the White Horse

(魏）曹植 （Author: Cao Zhi, 3rd Century)

白马饰金羁，white horse decorate gold bridle
连翩西北驰。connect fly fast west north ride
借问谁家子？borrow ask who family son
幽并游侠儿。You Bin travel chivalrous person
少小去乡邑，young little leave hometown city
扬声沙漠垂。raise reputation sand desert frontier
宿昔秉良弓，night morning hold good bow
楛矢何参差！beadtree/china-berry arrow how fringe difference
控弦破左的，control bowstring break left archery target
右发摧月支。right release destroy archery target
仰手接飞猱，upward hand shoot flying monkey
俯身散马蹄。bow down body scatter horse hoof
狡捷过猴猿，cunning agile surpass monkey
勇剽若豹螭。brave swift similar to leopard hornless dragon

边城多警急，frontier city many alarm hasty
虏骑数迁移。tribeman horse rider several times shift change
羽檄从北来，feather exhortation from north come
厉马登高堤。rein horse climb high hill
长驱蹈匈奴，long ride step on Xiongnu
左顾陵鲜卑。left look overpower Xianbei
弃身锋刃端，discard body edge knift front
性命安可怀？nature life how can think of
父母且不顾，father mother yet no take care
何言子与妻？how say son and wife
名编壮士籍，name compile strong person roll
不得中顾私。no can middle/heart think of private matters
捐躯赴国难，donate body go nation calamity
视死忽如归. look at death suddenly similar to return

Translation:

A white horse with a gold bridle
Soared like a bird into the Northwest.
I begged to know where the rider had come from.
He was a hero from You Bin.
When he was young, he left his hometown,
And made his reputation in the desert frontier.
Night and day he carried his good bow
With china-berry and bead tree arrows, short and long,
He could hit his target shooting left handed on horseback,
Shooting right handed, he could also pierce through it.
Shooting upward without stop, he could hit a flying monkey
Aiming his bow at the ground, he could destroy a horse hoof target.
More agile and cunning than a monkey,
As brave and as fierce as a leopard or mountain demon.

In this frontier city there are many sudden alarms
Urgent military messages come from the North,
While tribesmen attack from all directions.
He races up a steep hill
One long ride and he dominates the Xiongnu
Then he looks to his left and vanquishes the Xianbei
He lives on the knife-edge of danger
How can he think of his own well being?
He cares little for his mother and father,
Even less for his wife and child.
With his name on the roll of great men
He has no time for private matters
He sacrifices his body to save the nation
And sees his own death as a sweet homecoming.

 

七步诗    Seven Steps Poem

煮豆持作羹，cook/boil beans use make soup
漉豉以为汁。filter pulse use become juice
萁在釜下燃，beanstalks at pot under burn
豆在釜中泣。beans at pot inside cry
本自同根生，originally from same root born
相煎何太急？ each other fry why too much hastily

Translation:

Beans are boiled to make soup
In their own fermented broth
Beanstalks burn beneath the pot
Beans inside the pot cry out
We were born from the same stalk
why so quick to incinerate me?

 

杂诗二首    Two Pieces of Miscellaneous Poems

(魏）曹丕 （Author: Cao Pi, 3rd century)

其一 Number One

漫漫秋夜长，overflow overflow autumn night long
烈烈北风凉。wind blowing sound north wind cold
展转不能寐，toss toss no can sleep
披衣起彷徨。put on clothes get up wander
彷徨忽已久，wander suddenly already long
白露沾我裳。white dew moisten my clothes
俯视清水波，look down see clear water ripple
仰看明月光。look up see bright moon light

天汉回西流，milky way return west flow
三五正纵横。three five at the time vertical horizontal
草虫鸣何悲，grass insect cry how sorrow
孤雁独南翔。solitary goose alone south fly
郁郁多悲思，sad sad many sorrow thoughts
绵绵思故乡。continuous think of past village
愿飞安得翼，wish fly how get wing
欲济河无梁。desire to cross river no bridge
向风长叹息, face wind long sigh rest
断绝我中肠。break cut off I middle bowel

 

Translation:

Long, long the autumn night,
Howling, howling the cold north wind.
Restless, turning, unable to sleep
I rise and get dressed, unsure of what to do.

In my confusion, I suddenly realize
That my clothes are damp with white dew.
I look down: the clear water ripples
I look up: the bright moon shines

The whole star system is flowing back to the west.
But three stars still intersect five, forming a cross.
Insects in the grass make mournful cries.
All alone, a goose journeys south.

I have so many sad thoughts,
Longing without stop for my home.
I want to fly, but have no wings
I want to cross the river, but have no bridge.

Facing the wind, I sigh,
My bowels twisting with grief.

 

其二 Number Two

西北有浮云，west north have floating cloud
亭亭如车盖。towering towering like carriage cover/top
惜哉时不遇，pity alas time no meet
适与飘风会。suitable coincidentally float wind meet
吹我东南行，blow I east south go
行行至吴会。go go arrive Wu Kuai
吴会非我乡，Wu Kuai no my hometown
安能久留滞。how can long stay remain/stagnant
弃置勿复陈，discard put no again say
客子常畏人。 guest person often afraid people

 

Translation:

A cloud floats in the northwest,
High above me like a carriage top.
What a pity it came at the wrong time
And was blown away by the north wind.

I was blown southeast,
Blown all the way to Wu Kai.
This place is not my home.
How long will I be trapped here?

Even if I put aside my sadness,
A stranger has reason to fear the townspeople.

 

Translation Notes:

Cao Pi was the eldest son of the ambitious and talented warlord Cao Cao, and Cao Zhi was Cao Cao’s third son. Cao Cao became very powerful by the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and for years it was unclear whom he would appoint as his heir. Cao Zhi’s poetic talents, made him Cao Cao’s favorite son at one point. However, Cao Zhi was also a heavy drinker and sometimes behaved recklessly. He eventually disappointed Cao Cao, and his father made Cao Pi as his heir apparent instead.

After Cao Cao passed away, Cao Pi become the new king, and he exiled Cao Zhi to the countryside. Legend has it that Cao Pi once summoned his younger brother to court, forcing him to write a poem about brotherhood and threatening to execute him if he couldn’t do it in the time it took him to walk seven steps. That is why the title of Cao Zhi’s poem is “Seven Steps Poem”. However, historians have questioned the authenticity of this story, pointing out that Cao Pi had a million other ways to murder his younger brother if he wanted to. It would not have been wise for Cao Pi to challenge his talented younger brother by forcing him to write a poem.

Though both princes were famed for their poetry, the style of their poems is very different. Cao Pi was the one in power. Interestingly, in the two poems we translated, he put himself in a frail, insecure and homesick traveler’s shoes. By contrast, the poem “On the White Horse”, written by Cao Zhi, is very aggressive and warlike. Yet the young prince who idolized war heroes is not known for his military skills.

杂诗 Miscellaneous Poem

无名氏 （Author: Anonymous, Tang Dynasty）

近寒食雨草萋萋，close cold food rain grass luxuriant luxuriant
著麦苗风柳映堤。blow wheat seedling wind willow shine embankment
等是有家归未得，equal is have family return not can
杜鹃休向耳边啼。cuckoo no towards ear beside cry

 

Translation:

It’s almost Sweep the Graves Day, and the rain has made the grass grow thick.
The wheat seedlings tremble in the wind, and the river mirrors the willow trees.
Why can’t I return to my family?
Cuckoo bird, don’t make your mournful cry where I can hear you.

 

Translation note:

In the first couplet of the poem, the name of the festival is the “Cold Food Festival,” if translated literally. It is a traditional Chinese holiday which originated from the commemoration of the death of a nobleman during the Spring and Autumn period (around 7th century BC). It gradually evolved into an occasion for the Chinese to worship their ancestors. During the Tang dynasty, ancestral observance became a single-day event that is now the “Sweep the Graves Day,” which is how we translated it. We assume that most American readers wouldn’t know what “Cold Food Festival” is but that “sweep the graves” would convey the meaning. Whether we call it cold food festival or sweep the graves day, it is a time for returning to your home town and being with family.

This poem reflects the nostalgia of a traveler who was unable to return home. The second couplet of the poem was quoted by a Chinese netizen showing her sympathy towards those overseas Chinese who were unable to return to China due to the tough border controls imposed by the Chinese government to deal with COVID.

Since the COVID breakout, it is increasingly difficult for Chinese living abroad to travel to China due to frequent flight cancellations, skyrocketing ticket prices, and the strict pre-departure COVID testing requirements. Some were complaining that nowadays, travelling to China is as if they were purchasing “a lottery ticket”.

虞美人   Beautiful Lady Yu

李煜       (Author: Li Yu, 10th century)

春花秋月何时了,           spring flow autumn moon when time end
往事知多少？                past affairs know many a few
小楼昨夜又东风，        small tower yesterday night again east wind
故国不堪回首月明中！past kingdom no bear return head moon bright in

雕阑玉砌应犹在，       carved railing jade stairs should still exist
只是朱颜改。               only is red face change
问君能有几多愁？       ask you can have several many sorrow
恰似一江春水向东流。just similar one river spring water towards east flow

 

Translation:

Spring flowers, autumn moon — when will they end?
All those undertakings of the past — who knows how many there were?
Last night the east wind came to my small building again.
In the bright moonlight, I couldn’t bear to look back toward my homeland.

The inlaid ramparts and jade stairs should still be there.
It’s only the beautiful faces that have changed.
I ask you, how much sorrow is possible?
Just as much as a river full of spring water flowing east.

 

Translation Notes:

The author was the last ruler of the Southern Tang state. After his empire was invaded by the Northern Song armies, he was captured and spent the last couple of years of his life essentially as a prisoner in the North. This poem is said to be the last poem that he wrote, lamenting his miserable life as a prisoner and demonstrating how much he missed his empire/hometown. The historical record indicates that after he wrote this poem and asked some singing girls to chant it, the emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty grew furious and ordered that Li Yu be poisoned to death.

The wind in traditional Chinese thought is seen as a powerful force for change, often heralding the coming of spring. Even the word ‘wind’ has within it the symbol for insect, as it was believed that the wind brought the insects that appear in great number during the spring. In The Song of Weiyang Palace, translated on this site, the blowing wind causes the peach blossoms to open.  In other poems, however, such as Lu You’s Pheonix Hairpin, the wind is bitter and brings tragic change. In Beautiful Lady Yu, the east wind comes to the poet’s small building to remind the poet of his lost and beautiful homeland, triggering unbearable pain.