Verses:
天門中斷楚江開，碧水東流至此回。
兩岸青山相對出，孤帆一片日邊來。
Translation:
The gates of heaven have split open, as if by the sheer might of the Chu river. The jade green waters flow east and soonafter, turn back upon this place.
At that single point between the two shores, where two lush and verdant peaks stand face-to-face, none but a lonely sail approaches from whence the sun sets.
Points of Interest in the Poem:
| In Text | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 天門 | With the word 'Heaven's Gate (Tian Men)', the poet refers to a mountain located in Anhui province, China. It is composed of two great peaks to the North and South respectively with an opening between them, through which runs a great river. They appear as if two great doors had been pushed open by a commanding force, hence the name Heaven's Gate. |
| 楚江 | This is the alias of a river, better known as the 'Yangtze River'. However, the particular section of the river described in the poem is also known as the Chu river given that it once belonged to the Chu Kingdom. |
| 碧水...青山 | 碧 conveys a particular shade of green, similar to that of fresh jade. Meanwhile, 青 is a beloved colour in Chinese art history, and has no proper translation in English. It is described to be the colour of the sky after rainfall. In Chinese poetry, 山 (mountain) and 水 (waters) are often used in parallel and contrast to describe a landscape as a whole, still against moving, green against blue. Similarly, 青山 and 碧水 complement each other here to describe the magnificent lush green landscapes that can be seen across China. |
| 两岸...孤帆 | This is another instance of parallelism. Two shores against one sail serve to portray a dynamicism to the landscape, once again an example of the still against the moving, the many against the one. |
| 日邊 | The word 邊 (bian) means 'place' in this case, but it also describes 'edge' or 'boundary'. When used with 日 (ri), there is also an unspoken connotation of the distance beyond which the sun sets, which is particularly illustrative of the landscape then. Imagine the scenery, the last rays of the sun scattering upon the water accompanying the approach of a lonely sail from the distant horizon...the implicit descriptions are far more evident in the original text. |
Verses:
千山鳥飛絕， 萬徑人蹤滅。
孤舟蓑笠翁，獨釣寒江雪。
Translation:
Amongst thousands of mountain peaks, the birds have flown into nothingness. Across ten thousand roads, the people's traces have been extinguished.
A lonely boat atop which stands a fisherman in a straw cape and a bamboo hat, fishing alone between the frigid river and bitter snow.
Points of Interest in the Poem:
| In Text | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 千...萬, 山...徑, 鳥...人 | This is another instance of parallelism arising in Chinese poetry. Thousands of mountains against ten thousand roads serves to portray the vastness and overwhelming presence of the landscape before him, and furthermore, the still mountains being part of the natural world contrasts well against the notion of busy roads frequented by human society. Meanwhile, the poet also takes notice of the absence of the birds which is then paralleled with the lack of human presence, both qualities that bring life to elements aforementioned. Thus, every description aids in encapsulating a great emptiness and solitude that surrounds the poet, reflecting his mood (the poem was written following his exile). |
| 千萬孤獨 | Almost as a hidden Easter egg, taking the first word of each verse reveals the phrase "千萬孤獨" which translates to "tens of thousands of degrees of loneliness." |