Member Poem

Meng Haoran (689-740)

 

Morning Cold Above the River: Reminiscing

 

 

 

Leaves fall from trees

as wild geese go south;

 

The northern wind

is cold above the river.

 

The Xiang River

winds about my house

 

As I am far away

at end of the clouds, in Chu.

 

My village... this traveler

will weep until his tears run dry,

 

An orphaned boat

that gazes to the end of the sky.

 

I am asking for

a ferry bewitched, and lost—

 

The river is calm

and dusk flows over.

 

 

 

Mèng hào rán

Zǎo hán jiāng shàng yǒu huái

 

 

        

Mù luò yàn nán dù，

Běi fēng jiāng shàng hán。

Wǒ jiā xiāng shuǐ shàng，

Yáo gé chǔ yún duān。

Xiāng lèi kè zhōng jìn，

Gū fān tiān jì kàn。

Mí jīn yù yǒu wèn，

Píng hǎi xī màn màn。

Elder-brother/first Grand/great Shape/pledge=Meng Haoran(689-740)

 

Morning/early cold/chilly river above have/am missing/carry-in-bosom

 

 

Tree fall/drop wild-geese southward cross

 

[Note: When autumn comes, leaves will fall down on the ground. But in classic Chinese literature, people may say the wood falls down (木落), or the wood and leaves fall down (木叶下). In Chinese this usage has more rhythm paints a bleak and desolate autumn atmosphere. For example, Qu Yuan wrote a verse in his famous poem, “Lady Xiang,” “the autumn breeze tenderly creates ripples on Dongting Lake and the wood and leaves slowly float down.”], [wild-geese southward cross” = wild geese fly across the river to the south in autumn.]

 

Northern wind river above cold

 

My house Xiang/help River/water winding/bent/crooked

 

[Xiang River: Meng Haoran’s hometown is Xiangyang. A part of the Han River winds through his hometown, and this part of river is called Xiang River], [Xiang River winding = beside the winding Xiang River ]

 

Far-away separate Chu-State/clear clouds end

 

[Note: Meng Haoran’s hometown, Xiangyang, was located in the ancient State of Chu. This line means that his hometown is far away in the clouds of Chu. When some place is far away, people say it is near the horizon (clouds’ end): visually it looks close to the sky. The poet Xie Tiao of the Southern Qi Dynasty had a similar verse: “Mount Chu appears in the clouds, and the caves of Wu, obscure in the woods.”

 

Village tears/weep/cry traveler in-the-midst-of run-out

 

[Village tears = tears from being homesick], [traveler in-the-midst-of = in classic Chinese, means to travel or stay away from one’s hometown], [run-out = means shed all the tears. This line means that the poet shed all the tears in travel due to being homesick.]

 

Solitary/orphan sail/boat sky/heaven border/boundary look

 

[This line can be interpreted as the poet can only gaze at his hometown from afar.]

 

Bewitched/lost ferry desire/want/long-for have/is ask-about/inquire-after

 

[“Bewitched ferry” is an allusion. According to The Analects of Confucius, two recluses, Changju and Jieni, were plowing in the field together. When Confucius passed by them, he sent his disciple Zilu to ask them about a ferry. Changju and Jieni did not answer the question but mocked Confucius for his obsession with an official career. They said, “The whole world is an abyss of darkness and all efforts to change it will be in vain. Why not retreat from the world and live in seclusion just like us?” Afterwards “bewitched ferry” has an implied meaning of confusion, at a loss, or adrift. A “bewitched ferry” is like a crossroads: people do not know where they should go. In Meng Haoran’s poem, “bewitched ferry” may imply that after those setbacks, Meng was also confused about whether he should continue to pursue an official career or give up his ambitions and lead a recluse life.], [desire have ask-about = wants to ask]

 

Peaceful/flat/even sea/ocean evening/night/dusk overflow-of-water spreading

 

[Sea/ocean = in classical Chinese, sometimes people referred to a river as a sea; here it refers to a river.]