The writing background of a night stop near Fengqiao

Creation background: An Shi Rebellion broke out in January of Tianbao 14th year. Because the political situation in Jiangnan was relatively stable at that time, many scribes fled to Jiangsu and Zhejiang to avoid chaos, including Zhang Ji. One autumn night, the poet anchored at Fengqiao outside Suzhou. The beautiful scenery of autumn night in Jiangnan water town attracted this traveler with travel worries and wrote this poem with clear artistic conception.

Original text and translation

Night berth near Fengqiao

Tang Dynasty: Zhang Ji

Crows fell on the moon, crowed coldly, slept on maple trees, and slept in fishing lanes by the river.

In the lonely Hanshan Temple outside Suzhou, the bell that rang in the middle of the night reached the passenger ship.

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The moon has set, crows crow all over the sky, the maple trees on the river and the fishing fires on the boat make it difficult for me to sleep alone.

In the lonely and quiet Hanshan Temple outside Gusu, the bell that rang in the middle of the night reached the passenger ship I was riding.

Author's brief introduction Zhang Ji (date of birth and death unknown) is a Sun, Han nationality, from Xiangzhou, Hubei (now Xiangyang, Hubei). A poet of the Tang Dynasty, whose life story is unknown, lived around 753 AD and was contemporary with Liu Changqing. According to various records, we only know that he was a scholar in the twelfth year of Tianbao (about 753 AD). During the Dali period, Yuan Wailang, the ancestor of the school, was the salt and iron judge of Hongzhou (now Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province). His poems are hearty, incisive and profound, which have great influence on later generations. But unfortunately, less than 50 songs have been handed down. His most famous poem is a night-mooring near maple bridge.