[updated October 2022]
Depart and Travel From the Ba Ling River
灞 陵 行 送 别
送 君 灞 陵 亭
灞 水 流 浩 浩。
上 有 无 花 之 古 树
下 有 伤 心 之 春 草。
我 向 秦 人 问 路 岐
云 是 王 粲 南 登 之 古 道。
古 道 连 绵 走 西 京
紫 阙 落 日 浮 云 生。
正 当 今 夕 断 肠 处
骊 歌 愁 绝 不 忍 听。
Ba Ling Xing Song Bie
Song jun ba ling ting
Ba shui liu hao hao.
Shang you wu hua zhi gu shu
Xia you xin zhi chun cao.
Wo xiang qin ren wen lu qi
Yun shi wang can nan deng zhi gu dao.
Gu dao lian mian qi xi jing
Zi que luo ri fu yun sheng.
Zheng dang jin xi duan chang chu
Li ge chou jue bu ren ting.
Depart and Travel From the Ba Ling River
Send you off from Ba Ling pavilion
The Ba River flows vast and mighty.
Above us an old tree without blossoms
Below the spring grasses heart-broken.
I ask the Qin residents for directions where the road forks
Tell me that Wang Can climbed south from off the ancient highway.
This old road runs continuously to the western capital, Chang’an
Sunset, purple royal palace gate emerges from the floating clouds.
Where the sun sets is the place of heartbreak
Hear desperate and melancholy songs beyond one’s endurance.
Notes:
Ba River: Located in Guizhou Province.
Qin: The Qin kingdom (ca. 900-207 BC) during the Zhou Dynasty, and the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) in the west during ancient times.
Wang Can: (177-217 AD) Late Eastern Han politician and poet. He wrote in the Jian’an style that expressed life’s transitory nature. Famous for writing the “Poem of Seven Sorrows” about the suffering during years of war.