Farewell
[Tang Dynasty] Wang Wei
Dismounted from his horse to drink the king's wine ①,
asked the king where he was ②.
You are dissatisfied with your words,
Go back and lie down in ③ Nanshan Frontier ④.
But don’t ask again,
When the white clouds are endless.
Notes
①Drink your wine: urge you to drink.
②Where to go: Where to go.
③Return to bed: live in seclusion.
④Nanshan Frontier: Beside Zhongnan Mountain.
I got off my horse, drank with you to say goodbye, and asked you where you were going.
You said that you are not very happy here and want to go back and live in seclusion on the side of Nanshan Mountain.
You asked me to just leave and don’t ask again. Only the white clouds in the mountains will never end.
You are not pleased with your words. You said you are not very happy here.
When the white clouds are endless. Only when the white clouds are endless. It means that all fame and wealth are exhausted, but the white clouds are endless.
Brief analysis
This is a poem to send a friend off to hermitage. On the surface, the sentence may appear to be bland, but in detail, it is tasteless, but the words are shallow and affectionate, with profound meaning. The first two sentences of the poem are a narrative, a farewell message about drinking, and a question that leads to the following. The third and fourth sentences are to explain the reason why the friend retired to seclusion - "unable to achieve ambition". The five or six sentences are about comforting friends and one's own envy for seclusion, and denying fame, fortune, glory and wealth.
The whole poem is about losing ambition and returning to seclusion, using it to denounce fame and express the feeling of being intoxicated with white clouds and seeking happiness for oneself. The charm of the last two lines of the poem suddenly increases, the poetic meaning is thick, the heart is envious, and the emotion is endless.
This poem is about sending a friend off to hermitage. It seems to be an ordinary poem, but when you read it carefully, it turns out that the words are shallow and affectionate, and contain endless meanings of leisure.
"I got off my horse and drank your wine, and asked you where you were?" is the first narrative sentence. "Drink" is a verb usage, meaning "to make... drink". Writing a farewell drink at the beginning is the key point. The second sentence is to ask you where you are going. This leads to the following answer, transitioning to writing about retreating into seclusion. This simple and unpretentious question reveals the author's deep affection for his friends. The farewell person's feelings permeate between the lines from the beginning.
"You are dissatisfied, so you return to the southern border of the mountains." The word "dissatisfied" obviously has a profound meaning. It not only explains the reasons for his friend's retreat, but also expresses his frustration and dissatisfaction; at the same time, it also expresses the poet's own resentment towards reality from the side. These three words are a key to understanding the theme of this poem. After the poet learned about his friend's "unsatisfied" mood, he comforted him: "Don't ask again when you go, when the white clouds are endless." Just go, I won't ask anymore. In fact, why should you worry about frustration? Fame, wealth and fortune in this world always have an end. Only the white clouds in the mountains have no end and are enough for your entertainment. These two sentences express the author's very complex thoughts and feelings: both comfort to his friends and his own envy of seclusion; both denial of the glory and wealth of the world, and a feeling of helplessness. In connection with the three words "unsatisfied" in front of it, it seems that in these two poems, the most important thing is the sympathy for friends, and contains the poet's own anger towards reality. This is the meaning of this poem. The place and theme are. From the writing point of view, the first four sentences are relatively plain and seem to have no meaning. The two sentences at the end are poetic, the charm suddenly increases, and there are endless opinions behind the words. Of course, these two sentences did not come out of nowhere, but developed from the four seemingly plain sentences above. Without the foreshadowing of the first four sentences, the ending of these two sentences would not have given people such a strong sense of "the voice is clear." "(Xie Zhenyu) feeling.