54. Saying Goodbye with the Song of Roaming Over Tianmu

A poem by Li Bai, translated by Hyun Woo Kim, and an announcement

The sea-wanderers tell of Yingzhou:

With the hazy fog and waves, it is truly hard to find.

The Yue people talk of Tianmu:

With the flickering clouds and rainbow, maybe it can be seen.

Tianmu, adjoining the sky and being next to the sky,

With its vigor plucks the Five Mountains and hides Chicheng.

The forty-eight thousand zhangs of Tiantai,

Faced with this, wants to fall back southeast and tilt.

Thus I had come to dream of Wu and Yue—

A night, flying across the moon of Lake Jing.

The lake's moon illuminated my shadow,

Sending me to reach Shan Creek.

The place Master Xie had stayed was now as ever;

The lucid water rolled and slushed—a clear cry of a monkey.

The soles attached to Master Xie's clogs,

The body climbed a ladder of blue clouds.

Half up the cliff, the sun over sea was seen;

In the air, the Roosters of the Heaven were heard.

A thousand rocks transformed into ten thousands—the road was undecided;

Infatuated with a flower and leaning on a stone—suddenly, it was already dark.

A bear roaring, a dragon singing—a grand spring on a hill

Made a thick forest tremble!—and frightened tall peaks.

The cloud was blue and blue!—it would rain;

The water was choppy and choppy!—a fog was formed.

A lightning, a thunder;

Hills and mounts collapsed and snapped.

The stone gate of Dongtian

Opened in the middle of a bang.

The blue sky was boundless, its bottom not seen;

The sun and the moon shined and illuminated the Gold and Silver Pavilion.

Rainbows as their clothes and winds as their horses,

The Kings of the Cloud, scattered, came down.

Tigers played zithers and Luans pulled chariots;

The people of the immortal realm lined up like hemp plants.

Suddenly, my soul was startled and my spirit moved;

I woke up in ecstasy and awe—and moaned for long.

I could only recognize the bed of the moment,

Having lost the fog and dawn that had been until then.

The worldly happiness is also like this:

From the olden days, everything is water flowing east.

Time to say goodbye to you and leave—when will we return?

It is an occasion to graze white deer between blue cliffs;

I should go, and thus ride one to visit the famous mountains.

How can I lower my eyebrows, bend my waist, and serve the powerful and noble,

To make myself unable to open up my heart and face?

「夢遊天姥吟留別」

海客談瀛洲

煙濤微茫信難求

越人語天姥

雲霓明滅或可覩

天姥連天向天橫

勢拔五嶽掩赤城

天台四萬八千丈

對此欲倒東南傾

我欲因之夢吳越

一夜飛渡鏡湖月

湖月照我影

送我至剡溪

謝公宿處今尙在

淥水蕩漾淸猿啼

脚著謝公屐

身登靑雲梯

半壁見海日

空中聞天雞

千岩萬轉路不定

迷花倚石忽已暝

熊咆龍吟殷岩泉

栗深林兮驚層巓

雲靑靑兮欲雨

水澹澹兮生煙

列缺霹靂

邱巒崩摧

洞天石扇

訇然中開

靑冥浩蕩不見底

日月照耀金銀臺

霓爲衣兮風爲馬

雲之君兮紛紛而來下

虎鼓瑟兮鸞回車

仙之人兮列如麻

忽魂悸以魄動

怳驚起而長嗟

惟覺時之枕席

失向來之煙霞

世間行樂亦如此

古來萬事東流水

別君去時何時還

且放白鹿靑崖間

須行卽騎訪名山

安能摧眉折腰事權貴

使我不得開心顔

From Hyun Woo:

Li Bai wrote this poem to give to his friends when they were saying goodbye. He recalls the experience when he saw Tianmu Mountain, a place where immortals are supposed to live, in a dream. As always, the images he employs in his poem are magnificent: “A night, flying across the moon of Lake Jing”, “The body climb[ing] a ladder of blue clouds”, “Hills and mounts collaps[ing] and snapp[ing]”, “Tigers play[ing] zithers and Luans pull[ing] chariots”… It reminds me a bit of Coleridge’s Kubla Khan, but Coleridge’s images in his poem seem to be more restricted than Li Bai’s.

After waking up, Li Bai realizes the “worldly happiness […]everything is water flowing east.” Accordingly, there is no point in “serv[ing] the powerful and noble”. Like flowing water, all shall pass and nothing lasts forever. He would rather spend his time in this world freely wandering.

Announcement:

As you know, I am offering a 20% discount on the annual paid subscription until March 31st. While there also are other gifts that I am giving away (please refer to last week’s announcement), All paid subscribers get a Classical Chinese postcard, as long as you send me your address. Here is a sneak peek in to the postcard I plan to send in April:

Chao Chongzhi lived in Song, the dynasty which succeeded Tang. Like Tang, Song is also a dynasty famous for its poets. While it is only a possibility for now, I think I may start translating Song poems once I am done with the Three Hundred Tang Poems.

If you enjoyed my work, you can buy me a cup of tea. I am not a coffee person, by the way.