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Seeing Off Chen Zhangfu

By Li Qi Tang Dynasty

English Poetic Translation

In the fourth month's southern breeze, the great wheat turns gold;
before jujube blossoms fall, the paulownia shadows grow long.
Green mountains parted at dawn are still seen at eve;
outside the gate, the neighing steed yearns for home.
Lord Chen carries himself with a grand, open stride,
with his curly beard, tiger brows, and noble brow.
Within his belly he stores ten thousand scrolls of books;
he will never lower his head to the wild brush and weeds.
At the east gate we buy wine to toast our companions,
light-hearted, viewing ten thousand affairs as goose down.
Lost in drunken slumber, we mark not the day's decline;
at times, we gaze idly at the high, solitary clouds.
The Long River's white-capped billows darken the sky;
at the ferry landing, boats tie up, unable to cross.
The traveler from Zheng cannot yet reach his hearth;
the wanderer toward Luoyang sighs into the empty air.
I hear that in your native woods many old friends await you;
now that you laid down your office yesterday, what will tomorrow bring?

Classical Chinese & Pinyin

四月南風大麥黃，棗花未落桐陰長。
青山朝別暮還見，嘶馬出門思舊鄉。
陳侯立身何坦蕩，虯鬚虎眉仍大顙。
腹中貯書一萬卷，不肯低頭在草莽。
東門酤酒飲我曹，心輕萬事皆鴻毛。
醉臥不知白日暮，有時空望孤雲高。
長河浪頭連天黑，津口停舟渡不得。
鄭國遊人未及家，洛陽行子空歎息。
聞道故林相識多，罷官昨日今如何。

sì yuè nán fēng dà mài huáng, zǎo huā wèi luò tóng yīn zhǎng.
qīng shān cháo bié mù hái jiàn, sī mǎ chū mén sī jiù xiāng.
chén hóu lì shēn hé tǎn dàng, qiú xū hǔ méi réng dà sǎng.
fù zhōng zhù shū yī wàn juàn, bù kěn dī tóu zài cǎo mǎng.
dōng mén gū jiǔ yǐn wǒ cáo, xīn qīng wàn shì jiē hóng máo.
zuì wò bù zhī bái rì mù, yǒu shí kōng wàng gū yún gāo.
cháng hé làng tóu lián tiān hēi, jīn kǒu tíng zhōu dù bù dé.
zhèng guó yóu rén wèi jí jiā, luò yáng xíng zǐ kōng tàn xī.
wén dào gù lín xiāng shí duō, bà guān zuò rì jīn rú hé.

Philological Direct Translation

Fourth month southern wind great wheat yellow, jujube flowers not falling paulownia shade long.
Green mountains morning parting evening still see, neighing horse exit gate thinks old village.
Chen marquis standing body how broad and easy, curly beard tiger eyebrows still big forehead.
Belly inside stores books ten thousand scrolls, not willing lower head in brushwood and weeds.
East gate buy wine drink my companions, heart light ten thousand matters all goose feathers.
Drunk lying not know white sun dusk, sometimes empty gaze solitary cloud high.
Long river wave heads connect heaven black, ferry mouth stop boat cross not able.
Zheng state traveler not yet reach home, Luoyang traveler empty sigh with regret.
Heard say old forest acquaintances many, resigning official yesterday today how is it?

Scholarly Exegesis & Cultural Commentary

I. Formal Poetic Architecture & Meter

This masterpiece is composed in the genre of ancient-style regulated verse with uneven line lengths, known as Guanti or irregular ancient verse, which affords the poet immense freedom in modulating rhythm and tone. Unlike strict regulated verse, Li Qi utilizes shifting rhymes and variable line lengths ranging from seven to nine syllables to mimic the unpredictable emotional turbulence of parting. The acoustic texture shifts dynamically, beginning with the lazy warmth of late spring before accelerating into turbulent, stormy cadences that mirror the physical and emotional obstacles of travel.

II. Historical Chronology & Existential Impulse

Written during the high Tang Dynasty, the poem captures the unique psychological landscape of scholar-officials navigating the rigidly bureaucratic yet intellectually vibrant imperial examinations and court appointments. Chen Zhangfu was an erudite scholar of exceptional talent who experienced frustration within the lower ranks of officialdom. The verses reflect the existential dilemma of the learned elite: possessing vast intellectual capital yet facing demotion, resignation, or forced wandering across the provinces without stable imperial patronage.

III. Line-by-Line Exegesis & Allusion Decoding

The poem unfolds across a carefully orchestrated narrative arc, transitioning from pastoral intimacy to wild exuberance, and finally closing on an elegiac note of wintry isolation.

Lines 1-2 (Opening Couplet): Line 1 ("Fourth month southern wind great wheat yellow") and Line 2 ("Before jujube blossoms fall, the paulownia shadows grow long") establish a rich sensory foundation of late spring, anchoring the farewell in concrete seasonal markers.
Lines 3-4 (First Antithetical Turn): Line 3 ("Green mountains parted at dawn are still seen at eve") and Line 4 ("Outside the gate, the neighing steed yearns for home") evoke the lingering melancholy of travel, where winding mountain roads repeatedly bring back the scenery of separation.
Lines 5-6 (Second Antithetical Turn / Climax): Line 5 ("Lord Chen carries himself with a grand, open stride") through Line 8 celebrate Chen's towering physical and intellectual stature, invoking the trope of storing ten thousand scrolls to portray a mind too proud for mundane obscurity.
Closing Lines (Resolving Couplet): The concluding lines shift from roaring wine-feasts to the dark, turbulent waters of the Long River in Line 13 ("The Long River's white-capped billows darken the sky"), leaving the traveler stranded and pondering the uncertain fate of resignation.

IV. Cultural Symbolism & Key Metaphors

The poem relies on deeply resonant traditional imagery to characterize the scholarly ethos of the Tang Dynasty.

Ten Thousand Scrolls: Represents the monumental accumulation of classical historiography, philosophy, and poetry that defined elite Confucian education and moral authority.
Wild Brush and Weeds: Serves as a classical metaphor for rustic obscurity, administrative neglect, and the indignity of a great mind trapped far from the cultured centers of imperial governance.

V. Philosophical Core & Global Resonance

The philosophical underpinning of the poem bridges Confucian social responsibility and Daoist detachment. While Chen Zhangfu embodies the Confucian ambition to serve the state with immense literary learning, his resignation and untamed demeanor reflect a profound Daoist disdain for petty bureaucratic constraints. The universal resonance of the poem lies in its honest portrayal of human vulnerability—the intoxicating joy of intellectual fellowship contrasted with the stark, sobering reality of parting ways in an unpredictable world.