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Tang Dynasty Lüshi Meng Haoran

Viewing Dongting Lake, for Chancellor Zhang

望洞庭湖贈張丞相

Wàng Dòngtíng hú zèng Zhāng chéng xiàng

The vast lake becomes an indirect request for a way into public service. Read the Chinese, pinyin, word meanings, and original English translation.

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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.

01

八月湖水平，

bā yuè hú shuǐ píng

In the eighth month, the lake rises level;

Word meanings — Line 1
  1. 八月 bā yuè eighth lunar month
  2. 湖水 hú shuǐ lake water
  3. 平 píng level
02

涵虛混太清。

hán xū hùn tài qīng

holding the empty sky, it mingles with the heavens.

Word meanings — Line 2
  1. 涵虛 hán xū hold the empty sky
  2. 混 hùn mingle
  3. 太清 tài qīng high clear heavens
03

氣蒸雲夢澤，

qì zhēng yún mèng zé

Vapor steams over the Yunmeng marshes;

Word meanings — Line 3
  1. 氣 qì vapor
  2. 蒸 zhēng steam
  3. 雲夢澤 yún mèng zé Yunmeng marshes
04

波撼岳陽城。

bō hàn yuè yáng chéng

waves shake the city of Yueyang.

Word meanings — Line 4
  1. 波 bō waves
  2. 撼 hàn shake
  3. 岳陽城 yuè yáng chéng Yueyang city
05

欲濟無舟楫，

yù jì wú zhōu jí

I want to cross, but have no boat or oars;

Word meanings — Line 5
  1. 欲濟 yù jì wish to cross
  2. 無 wú without
  3. 舟楫 zhōu jí boat and oars
06

端居恥聖明。

duān jū chǐ shèng míng

to sit idle shames me in an enlightened reign.

Word meanings — Line 6
  1. 端居 duān jū remain idle
  2. 恥 chǐ be ashamed
  3. 聖明 shèng míng enlightened rule
07

坐觀垂釣者，

zuò guān chuí diào zhě

I sit watching those who fish,

Word meanings — Line 7
  1. 坐觀 zuò guān sit and watch
  2. 垂釣者 chuí diào zhě people fishing
08

徒有羨魚情。

tú yǒu xiàn yú qíng

with nothing but the wish for their catch.

Word meanings — Line 8
  1. 徒有 tú yǒu have only
  2. 羨魚 xiàn yú envy the fish caught
  3. 情 qíng feeling

English translation by PoemWell.

Read the whole poem

Original

八月湖水平，

涵虛混太清。

氣蒸雲夢澤，

波撼岳陽城。

欲濟無舟楫，

端居恥聖明。

坐觀垂釣者，

徒有羨魚情。

Translation

In the eighth month, the lake rises level;

holding the empty sky, it mingles with the heavens.

Vapor steams over the Yunmeng marshes;

waves shake the city of Yueyang.

I want to cross, but have no boat or oars;

to sit idle shames me in an enlightened reign.

I sit watching those who fish,

with nothing but the wish for their catch.

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?

    八月湖水平，

    Pronunciation hint

    bā yuè

    Reveal meaning and translation

    八月 — eighth lunar month

    In the eighth month, the lake rises level;

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

    欲濟無舟楫，

    Pronunciation hint

    yù jì

    Reveal meaning and translation

    欲濟 — wish to cross

    I want to cross, but have no boat or oars;

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

    徒有羨魚情。

    Pronunciation hint

    tú yǒu

    Reveal meaning and translation

    徒有 — have only

    with nothing but the wish for their catch.

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 →

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Line-by-line notes

Lines 1–2 · Lake and sky become continuous

八月 sets the season, and 平 gives the lake the appearance of a level expanse. 涵虛 suggests that the water holds the empty sky. 太清 is the high heavens. The English carries the two verbs through one sentence so the reader can follow the holding and mingling.

Lines 3–4 · The water has force

蒸 lets vapor rise over Yunmeng’s marshes, while 撼 makes the waves seem powerful enough to shake Yueyang. The lake that looked level in the opening can also move upward and strike outward. The speaker gives it room and force before asking how to cross it.

Lines 5–6 · What it takes to cross

欲濟 changes the view to a wish to get across. 無舟楫 supplies a practical obstacle, no boat or oars. 端居 and 恥 then put the speaker’s idleness in relation to an enlightened reign, 聖明. With a chancellor named as the recipient, crossing can suggest the help required to enter service. The English keeps the boat and oars so the petition remains indirect.

Lines 7–8 · Watching others take part

垂釣者 are the people lowering their lines. 坐觀 keeps the speaker seated and watching, echoing the enforced idleness of 端居. 徒 gives the last wish its limit. He can envy their catch and see what he wants to do, but the means remain with those already taking part.

Form and tone

The five-character regulated verse devotes its first half to an expansive scene and its second to an indirect appeal. 平, 清, 城, 明, and 情 maintain the rhyme. The lake is both a landscape and the material of the petition.

See the regulated verse guide for the form. Pinyin gives modern Mandarin pronunciation; no unverified historical tone grid is supplied.

Historical context

The title’s named recipient is essential to the poem’s social action. Removing it can make the closing appear merely to describe an unequipped traveler. The poem praises the public world while asking for a practical way to take part in it.

Continue with Meng Haoran or the nature shelf.

Sources

Chinese text compared with 望洞庭湖贈張丞相, public transcription on Wikisource. Punctuation is editorial; the English translation and reading notes 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

Meng Haoran. “Viewing Dongting Lake, for Chancellor Zhang” (望洞庭湖贈張丞相). PoemWell. English translation by PoemWell. Updated .

https://poemwell.org/poems/viewing-dongting-lake-for-chancellor-zhang

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.