Leave For Tanzhou
发 潭 州
夜 醉 长 沙 酒
晓 行 湘 水 春。
岸 花 飞 送 客
樯 燕 语 留 人。
贾 傅 才 未 有
褚 公 书 绝 伦。
名 高 前 后 事
回 首 一 伤 神。
Fa Tan Zhou
Ye zui chang sha jiu
Xiao xing xiang shui chun.
An hua fei song ke
Qiang yan yu liu ren.
Gu fu cai wei you
Chu gong shu jue lun.
Ming gao qian hou shi
Hui shou yi shang shen?
Leave For Tanzhou
Long evening of drinking wine in Changsha
At daybreak begin my travels, spring upon the Xiang River.
Flying riverbank flowers send me off
On the boat’s mast the swallows tell me I can always come back again.
But I have yet to obtain the talents and life of Guyi
Like Chu Shuiliang, a calligraphy master, who also died in Changsha.
Both of these men too famous, smart and talented to survive
How can one not remember the wounds inflicted upon them?
Notes:
Tanzhou: The ancient name for the modern day city of Changsha.
Xiang River: Largest river in Hunan Province, and a large tributary to the Changjiang (Yangzi River). Major part of the Lake Dongting drainage system.
Guyi: A petty education official during the Western Han Dynasty, famous for being too intelligent.
Chu Shuiliang: He was a calligraphy master during the Tang Dynasty.