Farewell to Cambridge was first published in New Moon in 1928, with volume 1, number 10, 18+00, and was later included in the poetry collection Tiger. It is an out-of-print work written by the poet on his way back to China after revisiting Cambridge.
At the beginning, the poet wrote down his feelings of leaving his alma mater in three gentle words, which gave people a quiet atmosphere and showed his nostalgia for Cambridge incisively and vividly. In the poet's mind, Cambridge has been idealized and poetic, and the poet is full of affection for every grass and tree there. The clouds in the west, the golden willows by the river, the green grass on the soft mud, the clear spring under the shade of elm trees, the starry night and the silent summer insects are all idealistic, poetic and personalized. The graceful willows along the He Kang River are dyed brilliant gold by the sunset, just like a beautiful bride wearing a red veil. The sunset casts her beautiful shadow on the rippling Hekang River. The poet was completely attracted by this picturesque evening beauty. His mind is in a trance, and his heart seems to be a wave of He Kanghe again. The beautiful shadow of the bride rippled in my heart. The poet was so obsessed with Cambridge that he was envious when he saw the green grass swaying underwater on the soft mud. He is willing to be a water plant, eager to live forever in the gentle caress of He Kanghe like that water plant. Under the shade of elm trees, the pool of clear water was also touched by the sunset, as if a rainbow of seven colors was crushed among floating seaweed, precipitating a rainbow-like dream.
The poet stayed in He Kang for some time, but when night fell, he was reluctant to leave. He propped up a long pole, wandered in the deeper grass, and went boating in the colorful Cambridge night to find his dreams. Singing here is the best time, but the poet has no intention to sing, and Xia Chong is silent for me. Silence is Cambridge tonight! It goes without saying that this is really "silence is better than sound"! This naturally produces the "quiet" mood in the last section. The poet left quietly with some nostalgia and some melancholy.
"There is painting in poetry and poetry in painting" is the ideal realm of China's traditional poetry, and the poetic aesthetic concepts of music, painting and architecture are presented to readers completely at this time. Farewell to Cambridge is a beautiful invisible painting, and every paragraph in the poem can be called a charming picture. For example, in the second paragraph of the poem, weeping willows and sparkling color shadows by the sunset on the He Kang River constitute a picture of the evening scene of He Kanghe.