Parting at the Southern Bank
南浦別
Nán pǔ bié
An autumn farewell ends with a painful request: go safely, but do not turn back again. Read the original Chinese with pinyin, word meanings, an original English translation, and notes.
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About the text and pronunciation
The simplified view changes character forms, not the edition. Notes and sources retain the cited text.
The Chinese source is shown in traditional characters by default, with a simplified view available. Pinyin is modern standard Mandarin, a reading aid, not Tang or Song pronunciation.
Word by word, in the order of the line. A gloss is a crib. It is not the translation.
Word meanings — Line 1
- 南浦 nán pǔ southern riverbank
- 淒淒 qī qī sorrowfully
- 別 bié part
Word meanings — Line 2
- 西風 xī fēng west wind
- 嫋嫋 niǎo niǎo gently moving
- 秋 qiū autumn
Word meanings — Line 3
- 一看 yí kàn each look
- 腸 cháng intestines; heart
- 一斷 yí duàn break once
Word meanings — Line 4
- 好去 hǎo qù go safely
- 莫 mò do not
- 回頭 huí tóu turn back
English translation by PoemWell.
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Original
南浦淒淒別，
西風嫋嫋秋。
一看腸一斷，
好去莫回頭。
Translation
At the southern bank, a sorrowful parting;
the west wind stirs through autumn.
Each backward look breaks the heart once more.
Go safely—do not turn your head again.
Try it from memory
After reading, recall the underlined word or phrase in each line. Say its meaning before opening the answer. These prompts use the text edition printed above.
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Line 1 · What does the marked word mean?
南浦淒淒別，
Pronunciation hint
nán pǔ
Reveal meaning and translation
南浦 — southern riverbank
At the southern bank, a sorrowful parting;
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Line 3 · What does the marked word mean?
一看腸一斷，
Pronunciation hint
yí kàn
Reveal meaning and translation
一看 — each look
Each backward look breaks the heart once more.
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Line 4 · What does the marked word mean?
好去莫回頭。
Pronunciation hint
hǎo qù
Reveal meaning and translation
好去 — go safely
Go safely—do not turn your head again.
One more question: what changes?
Compare the opening and closing lines. What changes in the scene, the speaker’s attention, or the feeling? Choose a Chinese word as evidence, then compare your reading with the notes. More than one answer may be reasonable.
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Line-by-line notes
Lines 1–2: two kinds of lingering
南浦 places the parting at a southern bank or landing. Its association with farewells does not identify one modern site. Read the two repeated words together: 淒淒 colors the goodbye, and 嫋嫋 gives the west wind its wavering motion. 秋 arrives as the last word of the line, after the wind has made the season felt.
Lines 3–4: each look hurts again
The two 一 give the line the shape of cause and consequence. Each 看 brings another 斷. The English “heart” carries the grief of 腸, literally the gut. 好去 first wishes the traveler well. 莫回頭 follows as an instruction against another look, completing the thought the previous line began. The speaker can offer care by asking the friend to go on.
Form and tone
Four five-character lines move from the situation to a direct instruction. The first couplet doubles 淒 and 嫋; the second repeats 一. Those echoes let recurring feeling and recurring action lead to a final request for an end. 秋 and 頭 occupy the even-line rhyme positions.
See the jueju guide for the form. Pinyin gives modern Mandarin; no historical tone grid is supplied.
Historical context
The poem does not name either person or tell us their relationship. The final voice is easier to understand as someone who wants the departing traveler to go well, even while another glance becomes unbearable. Its restraint makes a useful comparison with farewells that promise reunion or reach toward a distant destination.
Read more by Bai Juyi, or follow the farewell shelf. The English translation, gloss, and notes are original to PoemWell.
Sources
南浦別, public transcription. We print 淒淒 and 嫋嫋 as in the linked transcription. Punctuation and reading-line divisions are editorial.
English translation, gloss, and notes by PoemWell. The translation is original to this site.
The Chinese source is shown in traditional characters by default, with a simplified view available. Pinyin is modern standard Mandarin, a reading aid, not Tang or Song pronunciation.
Updated .
Cite this reading
Bai Juyi. “Parting at the Southern Bank” (南浦別). PoemWell. English translation by PoemWell. Updated .
https://poemwell.org/poems/parting-at-the-southern-bank
Credit the poet for the Chinese original and PoemWell for this translation and commentary. Use the permanent page link above; source editions are listed separately.