PoemWell A reading desk for classical Chinese poetry
Menu

Tang Dynasty Lüshi Gao Shi

Sending Off Two Demoted Officials

送李少府貶峽中王少府貶長沙

Sòng Lǐ Shào Fǔ Biǎn Xiá Zhōng Wáng Shào Fǔ Biǎn Cháng Shā

Gao Shi addresses two friends sent to different southern posts, weaving their routes together before offering careful words of consolation.

Read the poem

Read the original and its translation together. Open a line’s word meanings for a closer look.

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.

01

嗟君此別意何如，

jiē jūn cǐ bié yì hé rú

Ah, my friends—how does this parting feel?

Word meanings — Line 1
  1. 嗟 jiē ah
  2. 君 jūn you
  3. 此 cǐ this
  4. 別 bié parting
  5. 意 yì feeling
  6. 何 hé how
  7. 如 rú like
02

駐馬銜杯問謫居。

zhù mǎ xián bēi wèn zhé jū

We halt our horses, drink, and ask about your places of exile.

Word meanings — Line 2
  1. 駐 zhù halt
  2. 馬 mǎ horse
  3. 銜 xián hold to lips
  4. 杯 bēi cup
  5. 問 wèn ask
  6. 謫 zhé banished
  7. 居 jū residence
03

巫峽啼猿數行淚，

wū xiá tí yuán shù háng lèi

In Wu Gorge, the crying apes: tears running down in streams.

Word meanings — Line 3
  1. 巫 wū Wu
  2. 峽 xiá Gorge
  3. 啼 tí cry
  4. 猿 yuán apes
  5. 數 shù several
  6. 行 háng rows
  7. 淚 lèi tears
04

衡陽歸雁幾封書。

héng yáng guī yàn jǐ fēng shū

At Hengyang, returning geese: how many letters will there be?

Word meanings — Line 4
  1. 衡 héng Heng
  2. 陽 yáng yang
  3. 歸 guī return
  4. 雁 yàn geese
  5. 幾 jǐ how many
  6. 封 fēng sealed items
  7. 書 shū letters
05

青楓江上秋天遠，

qīng fēng jiāng shàng qiū tiān yuǎn

Over the river's green maples the autumn sky stretches away;

Word meanings — Line 5
  1. 青 qīng green
  2. 楓 fēng maples
  3. 江 jiāng river
  4. 上 shàng above
  5. 秋 qiū autumn
  6. 天 tiān sky
  7. 遠 yuǎn distant
06

白帝城邊古木疏。

bái dì chéng biān gǔ mù shū

beside White Emperor City, ancient trees stand thin.

Word meanings — Line 6
  1. 白 bái White
  2. 帝 dì Emperor
  3. 城 chéng city
  4. 邊 biān beside
  5. 古 gǔ old
  6. 木 mù trees
  7. 疏 shū sparse
07

聖代即今多雨露，

shèng dài jí jīn duō yǔ lù

This enlightened reign, just now, has rain and dew to spare;

Word meanings — Line 7
  1. 聖 shèng sage
  2. 代 dài era
  3. 即 jí just
  4. 今 jīn now
  5. 多 duō much
  6. 雨 yǔ rain
  7. 露 lù dew
08

暫時分手莫躊躇。

zàn shí fēn shǒu mò chóu chú

our hands part only for a time—do not hang back in sorrow.

Word meanings — Line 8
  1. 暫 zàn temporary
  2. 時 shí time
  3. 分 fēn part
  4. 手 shǒu hands
  5. 莫 mò do not
  6. 躊 chóu hesitate
  7. 躇 chú linger

English translation by PoemWell.

Read the whole poem

Original

嗟君此別意何如，

駐馬銜杯問謫居。

巫峽啼猿數行淚，

衡陽歸雁幾封書。

青楓江上秋天遠，

白帝城邊古木疏。

聖代即今多雨露，

暫時分手莫躊躇。

Translation

Ah, my friends—how does this parting feel?

We halt our horses, drink, and ask about your places of exile.

In Wu Gorge, the crying apes: tears running down in streams.

At Hengyang, returning geese: how many letters will there be?

Over the river's green maples the autumn sky stretches away;

beside White Emperor City, ancient trees stand thin.

This enlightened reign, just now, has rain and dew to spare;

our hands part only for a time—do not hang back in sorrow.

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.

  1. Line 1 · What does the marked word mean?

    嗟君此別意何如，

    Pronunciation hint

    bié

    Reveal meaning and translation

    別 — parting

    Ah, my friends—how does this parting feel?

  2. Line 5 · What does the marked word mean?

    青楓江上秋天遠，

    Pronunciation hint

    shàng

    Reveal meaning and translation

    上 — above

    Over the river's green maples the autumn sky stretches away;

  3. Line 8 · What does the marked word mean?

    暫時分手莫躊躇。

    Pronunciation hint

    shǒu

    Reveal meaning and translation

    手 — hands

    our hands part only for a time—do not hang back in sorrow.

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.

Line-by-line notes →

Self-check at your own pace. No score or progress is saved. Open only the answers you want included when printing.

Line-by-line notes

Lines 1–2: the friends stop together

The title names Li and Wang, two officials going to different places under demotion. 君 in the first line addresses them, and 何如 asks how this parting feels. 駐馬 brings the horses to a stop. 銜杯 puts the cup at the lips before the speaker asks about each 謫居, the place of banishment.

Lines 3–4: tears and letters travel differently

The Wu Gorge and its crying apes evoke Li’s route. 數行 makes the tears several tracks down a face. The returning geese at Hengyang suggest the hope of letters to or from Wang in the south. 幾封 leaves their number unknown. The English preserves the unfinished quality of those pictures, a sound with its effect and a sight with its question.

Lines 5–6: moving from one destination to the other

The river maples and the distant autumn sky turn the thought toward Wang’s destination. White Emperor City and its spare old trees bring it back to Li’s. 遠 expands one view while 疏 thins the other. The pair gives two separate landscapes to friends who are still together at the opening stop.

Lines 7–8: how to voice hope

雨露 is the courtly image of imperial favor as rain and dew. 多 expresses the speaker’s hope that favor is available. 暫時 gives the parting a time limit in the encouragement, and 莫躊躇 urges the friends onward. The tone makes the separation bearable for a moment without a promise from the court.

Form and tone

This seven-character regulated verse has eight lines. Its middle couplets pair places, sounds, and images across two destinations; the ending gathers the separate journeys into one consoling address. Pinyin uses modern readings. No unverified historical tone grid is displayed.

Historical context

The long title does essential work: Li is being sent into the gorges, Wang to Changsha. Gao Shi turns a double farewell into a shared act of companionship. His tactful final reassurance should be heard against the tears and uncertain letters of the middle, not allowed to erase them.

Sources

Chinese text follows Song Li shaofu bian Xiazhong, Wang shaofu bian Changsha, in Quan Tang shi, juan 214. 桮 and 疎 are normalized to 杯 and 疏. Punctuation is editorial. English translation and annotations are original to PoemWell.

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

Gao Shi. “Sending Off Two Demoted Officials” (送李少府貶峽中王少府貶長沙). PoemWell. English translation by PoemWell. Updated .

https://poemwell.org/poems/sending-two-demoted-officials

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.