Taking Leave
By Wang Wei
Translated by A.Z. Foreman
Here in the mountains after parting
I shut my brushwood door: day ends.
In spring the greening grass will return.
Will you as well, my prince of friends?1
Notes:
1- "my prince..." here an honorific used as poetic cliché, meant to recall its occurrence in the Summons for a Gentleman Who Has Retired From The World (招隱士.) In it, the poet tries to persuade said gentleman/prince to come out of his reclusive retirement. After enumerating the hardships of life alone in the wildlands, the poet ends with the following lines:
王孫兮 My prince, oh,
歸來 Come back home.
山中兮 Amid the mountains, oh,
不可以久留 You cannot stay for long.
The Original, with transcriptions:
(Medieval Chinese transcribed using a system developed by prof. David Branner)
By Wang Wei
Translated by A.Z. Foreman
Here in the mountains after parting
I shut my brushwood door: day ends.
In spring the greening grass will return.
Will you as well, my prince of friends?1
1- "my prince..." here an honorific used as poetic cliché, meant to recall its occurrence in the Summons for a Gentleman Who Has Retired From The World (招隱士.) In it, the poet tries to persuade said gentleman/prince to come out of his reclusive retirement. After enumerating the hardships of life alone in the wildlands, the poet ends with the following lines:
王孫兮 My prince, oh,
歸來 Come back home.
山中兮 Amid the mountains, oh,
不可以久留 You cannot stay for long.
The Original, with transcriptions:
(Medieval Chinese transcribed using a system developed by prof. David Branner)
| Han Characters 王維 送別 山中相送罷， 日暮掩柴扉。 春草明年綠， 王孫歸不歸。 | Medieval Chinese sùng1b bat3bx ghwang3 ywi3c sran2b trung3b sang3 sùng1b béi2a nyet3b mùo1 ám3bx dzrei2a pi3a tshywen3b tsháu1 meing3a nan4 luk3c ghwang3 swen1 kwi3a pet3 kwi3a | Modern Chinese Sòng Bié Wáng Wéi Shān zhōng xiāng sòng bà rì mù yăn chái fēi chūn căo míng nián lǚ wáng sūn guī bù guī |
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