The river flows into the wilderness
From: "Farewell at the Jingmen Gate" by Li Bai of the Tang Dynasty
I traveled far beyond the Jingmen Gate to travel from the Kingdom of Chu.
The mountains end with the plains, and the river flows into the wilderness.
Under the moon, there is a flying mirror, and the clouds are forming sea towers.
I still feel sorry for the water in my hometown, and send my boat sailing thousands of miles away.
Translation:
Go far beyond Jingmen to travel from the Kingdom of Chu. I took a boat across the river to the distant Jingmen Gate and visited the territory of Chu State during the Warring States Period. The mountains end with the plains, and the river flows into the wilderness.
The mountains gradually disappeared, the plains slowly spread out, and the river seemed to flow into the vast wilderness. Under the moon, there is a flying mirror, and the clouds form a sea tower.
The shadow of the moon in the waves is like a bright mirror flying from the sky, and the colorful clouds in the sky form a beautiful mirage. Still feeling pity for the water in my hometown, I send my boat sailing thousands of miles away.
But I still love the surging river in my hometown more. It flows endlessly and accompanies me when I travel thousands of miles.
Creative background:
This poem was written by Li Bai as a farewell gift to his hometown when he came from Shu to Jingmen in his youth. The specific creation time is uncertain, but it was basically written in the tenth year of Kaiyuan by Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. From the second to the fourteenth year (AD 724-726, Li Bai was 24-26 years old).
Li Bai left his relatives and traveled far away in the twelfth year of Kaiyuan, when he was 24 years old.
The poet has been living in Sichuan since "reciting Liujia at the age of five" until he traveled to Jingmen. He studied on Daitian Mountain, visited Emei, and lived in seclusion in Qingcheng. He had a deep love for the mountains and rivers in Sichuan. Feelings, this time I left my hometown, headed to Qingxi, headed for the Three Gorges, went down to Yuzhou, crossed Jingmen, and sailed eastward in a light boat, intending to "straddle the poor Cangwu in the south and cross the Minghai in the east."
This is the first time that the poet left his hometown and began to roam the country, preparing to realize his ideals and ambitions.