山中送別 mountain/middle/send/part
1 山中相送罷 mountain/middle/mutual/send/complete
2 日暮掩柴扉 sun/dusk/close/wood/door
3 春草明年綠 spring/grass/next/year/green
4 王孫歸不歸 Wang/grandson/return/not/return
Analysis of the Original Poem
According to Yoo Sungjoon, this was written in Wang Wei’s later years (30-31). It can be inferred from the content that this poem was written by Wang Wei during his time at the Lantian estate. It is different from other farewell poems in that it begins after the parting event, which is seen in the first line of the poem. From this line, one can infer that the parting event most likely took place in the mountains. In the second line, the poet has returned to his home after the sun has set; however, it is not clear when the parting actually took place. This line seems very plain and
straightforward, but the sentiment hides beneath the simple words and actions of the poet. The loneliness of the poet can be seen by the sunset on his closing doors.
Although at the end of the first line the Wang Wei uses the word “complete/end” (罷) to signify that the parting event has ended, the sentiments of the poet are never-ending.
According to Marsha Wagner, instead of elaborating on watching his friend leave and his emotions, he “emphasizes only his own psychological response” and seeks “his own solace and engages in self-questioning” (167).
In the third and fourth line, the poet speaks of the future, signifying his
longing to see his friend again. The poet speaks of the grass, which will most certainly always grow back again next spring, then proceeds to ask the friend if he shall also return. Pauline Yu sates that Wang Wei has directed “his attention towards the future”
(“The World of” 200). Yu also notes that “the last two lines contain allusions to an anonymous poem of the second century B.C. entitled Chao Yin-shih (招隱士) (“Summons for a Gentleman Who Became a Recluse”) and included in the Chu Tzu anthology. The earlier poem is presumably addressed to an official who withdrew from service…[This poem] brings in this allusion to a literary antecedent in order to speculate about the future” (“The World of” 201). According to Marsha Wagner, in Chao Yin-shih it was the prince who became the recluse, but in Wang’s poem it is Wang himself who is the recluse. In the final line of Wang’s poem, it is the poet who wonders if the friend will return to nature, but in Chao Yin-shih it is the poet asking the prince to return to court (169). In conclusion, as Tony Barnstone observes, this poem conveys “universal notions of friendship’s persistence, with all of its
insinuations of seasons, loss, and rebirth” (xxxvi).
Imageries in this Poem and its Manipulation
Due to the nature of this poem, the images that have appeared are mostly tied to nature images, such as plants, the seasons, and nature. From a visual perspective, color images are also present. In the first line, there are two images, one is a
nature/color imagery, the “sun at dusk” (日暮) which emits the sense of the color red or orange, and the plant imagery of the “wood door” (柴扉). One is the description of time (dusk) and color (orange/red), the other is a plant image that is tied to nature. The
“wood door” can represent rural life, letting the reader know that the poet is living a
simple life, and the manipulation is that of metaphor, where it is a metaphor for the simple lifestyle. The “sun at dusk” not only displays the color of the current scene, the setting of the sun may also evoke the emotion of loneliness. Due to the emotional aspect behind this imagery, the manipulation of this imagery is that of transference, connecting the setting sun with the lonely emotions of the poet.
In the final two lines of the poem, there is the “spring grass” (春草), a
season/plant imager, and then the color imagery of “green next year” (明年綠). These two images are connected and both refer to the grass (草). The combination of the images creates a vibrant atmosphere, while also conveying the length of time in which the poet hopes the friend will return. The manipulation of the imagery in these two lines is imagination, speaking of events that have not yet happened.
The Jade Mountain, translation by Witter Bynner
山中送別 A Parting
山中相送罷 Friend, I have watched you down the mountain 日暮掩柴扉 Till now in the dark I close my thatch door....
春草明年綠 Grasses return again green in the spring, 王孫歸不歸 But O my Prince of Friends, do you?
(68)
Annotations by the Translator
68. Wang Sun, a name akin to the English “Prince Charming,” but more serious, and translated here “Prince of Friends,” means a noble-hearted young scholar or,
sometimes, lover. (See Wang Wêi’s A Parting and An Autumn Evening in the Mountains.)
There was an old song:
The wild grass loves Wang Sun And he the grasses;
And when he rides away, They call to him.
Translation Analysis
In the translated title, the translator chooses to focus on the parting event.
Although there are alternative Chinese titles, which are mainly one of the two
“Parting in the Mountains” (山中送別) and “A Parting” (送別), Bynner’s translation is the rendition of the latter. The layout of the translated text contains two main lines, though each is split up into four sentences.
In the first two lines, the translator adds the recipient of the poem, “friend”, which is not present in the Chinese. Bynner also chooses to interpret the actions of the poet, and adds motions and descriptions that are not in the Chinese. For example, the source text does not say that the poet watched the friend down the mountain; the only known fact is that the poem began after the poet bid farewell to the friend. In the Chinese, the poet does not return to his abode “in the dark”, but at “dusk” (日暮).
Though the words “till now” are not said in the Chinese, this interpretation was perhaps brought on by the lack of explanation for the time between the farewell and when the poet returned.
In the last two lines, the translator separated “spring grass” (春草) into two separate images, “grasses” and “spring”. Bynner also chose to pair “return” with
“again”. Finally, the “Wang sung” (王孫), is translated as “O my Prince of Friends”.
The use of “O” was added by the translator, for there is no exclamation in the Chinese.
Also, the translator used “do you?” instead of “will you?”, going against the typical way of asking if someone will do something in the future. At the end of the poem, the translator gives an annotation of “Wang sung” (王孫), and its origin.
The translation and manipulation of the farewell images are as follow. The
“sun at dusk” (日暮) is a combination of nature and color imagery, where the setting sun emits a sense of closure and the color of dusk (deep orange), conveys loneliness.
Bynner translated this imagery into “in the dark”, which excluded the imagery of the sun but kept a color element, which is “dark”. However, this is not a common Chinese
farewell imagery. Another color imagery is the spring grass which will turn green.
This is a plant, season, and color imagery, which Bynner kept all three images in the translation. He also used the verb “return” to emphasis the reoccurrence of the spring grass. The manipulation of the later images is similar to that of the Chinese, which is imagination of events that will occur in the future.
300 Tang Poems: A New Translation, translation by Xu Yuanzhong
山中送別 A Parting
山中相送罷 Watching you leave the hills, compeer, 日暮掩柴扉 Till dusk, I close my wicket door.
春草明年綠 When grass turns green in spring next year, 王孫歸不歸 Will you return with spring once more?
Translation Analysis
In the translated title, the translator chose to focus on the parting event.
Although there are alternative Chinese titles, which are mainly one of the two
“Parting in the Mountains” (山中送別) and “A Parting” (送別), Xu’s translation is the rendition of the later. The layout of the translated text contains two main lines, though each is split up into four sentences.
In the first two lines, the translator added many elements that were not present in the Chinese. It was not specified in the Chinese that the poet “watched” the friend leave the hills, nor did the poet refer to the friend as “compeer”. The later was perhaps added for rhyming purposes (with “year” in the third line). The Chinese also did not use the preposition “till”, however, it is present in the translation.
In the last two lines, the translator followed the Chinese and did include words with meaning of “again” or “return” to convey the reoccurrence of the spring grass, instead, only stated that “grass turns green in spring next year”. The correlation between grasses turning green next year with the return of the friend is somewhat
different from the Chinese. In the Chinese, the spring grass turning grass serves as time reference for something that is bound to happen, where in the translation, the time that grass turns green is a point in time that the poet asked if the friend will return. Finally, the translator eliminated the idea of “Wang sung” (王孫) altogether, and simply referred to the friend as “you”, while adding the “spring” component which was not present in this line of the Chinese.
The translation and manipulation of the farewell images are as follows. The
“sun at dusk” (日暮) is a combination of nature and color imagery, where the setting sun conveys a sense of closure and the color of dusk (deep orange), conveys
loneliness. Xu translated this imagery into “dusk”, and excluded the imagery of the sun but kept the color imagery. This does affect the imagery for “dusk” is also related to the sun. Xu used the preposition of “till” with the dusk imagery, insinuating that perhaps the poet watched the friend leave and did not return home until much later.
Another color imagery is the spring grass which will turn green next year. This is a plant, season, and color imagery, which Xu kept all three images in the translation.
The manipulation of the later images is similar to that of the Chinese, which is imagination of events that will occur in the future.
Poems by Wang Wei, translation by Chang Yin-nan and Lewis C. Walmsley
山中送別 Parting
山中相送罷 I watch you travel slowly down the mountain 日暮掩柴扉 And then the sun is gone. I close my thatched door.
春草明年綠 Grasses will grow green again next spring;
王孫歸不歸 But you, beloved friend, will you return?
Translation Analysis
In the translated title, the translator chose to focus on the parting event.
Although there are alternative Chinese titles, which are mainly one of the two
“Parting in the Mountains” (山中送別) and “A Parting” (送別), this translation is the rendition of the later but without the use of an article. The layout of the translated text contains two main lines, though each is split up into four sentences.
Although the poet might have stood in the place of parting till much later in time, it was not specified in the Chinese. In the first two lines, the translation stated that the poet watched the friend “travel slowly down the mountain”. Due to the lack of a period in the first line of the translation, the translator has connected the friend going down the mountain with the sun being “gone”, and disconnecting that with the closing of the ”thatched door”.
In the last two lines, the translation has added the adverb “again”, which was not present but only insinuated in the Chinese. The translator also added the
transitional expression “but”, which was also not present in the Chinese. “Wang sung”
(王孫) was translated as “beloved friend”, perhaps because this concept was not present in the translation, there were no annotations presented by the translators.
The translation and manipulation of the farewell images are as follows. The
“sun at dusk” (日暮) is a combination of nature and color imagery, where the setting sun emits a sense of closure and the color of dusk (deep orange), conveys loneliness.
The translators have translated this imagery into the description that “the sun is gone”, and excluded the color imagery. Another color imagery is the spring grass which will turn green next year. This is a plant, season, and color imagery, which the translators kept all three images in the translation. The manipulation of the later images is similar to that of the Chinese, which is imagination of events that will occur in the future.