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Tang Dynasty Jueju Wang Zhihuan

Willows at a Farewell

送別

Sòngbié

Willow branches along an imperial waterway reveal repeated departures in Wang Zhihuan’s twenty-character farewell.

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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

楊柳東風樹，

yáng liǔ dōng fēng shù

Willows stand in the spring wind,

Word meanings — Line 1
  1. 楊 yáng poplar
  2. 柳 liǔ willow
  3. 東 dōng east
  4. 風 fēng wind
  5. 樹 shù trees
02

青青夾御河。

qīng qīng jiā yù hé

green along both banks of the imperial waterway.

Word meanings — Line 2
  1. 青 qīng green
  2. 青 qīng green
  3. 夾 jiā flank
  4. 御 yù imperial
  5. 河 hé river
03

近來攀折苦，

jìn lái pān zhé kǔ

Their branches have been broken hard of late—

Word meanings — Line 3
  1. 近 jìn recently
  2. 來 lái lately
  3. 攀 pān reach
  4. 折 zhé break
  5. 苦 kǔ severely
04

應為別離多。

yīng wèi bié lí duō

there must have been so many farewells.

Word meanings — Line 4
  1. 應 yīng must
  2. 為 wèi because
  3. 別 bié parting
  4. 離 lí separation
  5. 多 duō many

English translation by PoemWell.

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Original

楊柳東風樹，

青青夾御河。

近來攀折苦，

應為別離多。

Translation

Willows stand in the spring wind,

green along both banks of the imperial waterway.

Their branches have been broken hard of late—

there must have been so many farewells.

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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?

    楊柳東風樹，

    Pronunciation hint

    dōng

    Reveal meaning and translation

    東 — east

    Willows stand in the spring wind,

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

    近來攀折苦，

    Pronunciation hint

    pān

    Reveal meaning and translation

    攀 — reach

    Their branches have been broken hard of late—

  3. Line 4 · What does the marked word mean?

    應為別離多。

    Pronunciation hint

    bié

    Reveal meaning and translation

    別 — parting

    there must have been so many farewells.

One more question: what changes?

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Line-by-line notes

Lines 1–2 · Green along the water

楊柳 gives the trees their name, and the repeated 青青 makes the green conspicuous. 夾 places the willows on both sides of 御河, the imperial waterway. The selected 東風 puts the trees in an east or spring wind, which the English renders as “spring wind.” The source also records 東門, east gate, a reading that would give the scene a more precise location in place of the weather.

Lines 3–4 · Evidence of earlier departures

近來 looks back over a recent stretch of time. 攀折 describes reaching up and breaking branches, and 苦 registers how severely the trees have been treated. The association of broken willow twigs with leave-taking makes that visible damage legible. 應為 makes the last line an inference, “there must have been.” The speaker starts from branches and reasons toward a number of farewells. The poem supplies their collective trace while leaving the individual encounters out of view.

Form and tone

This five-character jueju moves from a green scene to an inference about what has happened there. 河 and 多 rhyme at the second and fourth endings. Repeated 青 gives abundance before 苦 makes that abundance vulnerable. Pinyin is modern Mandarin; no historical tone table is supplied.

Historical context

Wang Zhihuan makes the trees keep a record of farewells. The poem names no traveler or destination. Compare Sending Yuan Er to Anxi, where a friend can still receive a cup, and Farewell in the Mountains, where next year's grass will return whether the friend does or not.

Sources

《全唐詩》, juan 253, Wang Zhihuan section, checked in the Wikisource transcription. The printed main reading is followed; 爲 is normalized to 為. Punctuation is 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

Wang Zhihuan. “Willows at a Farewell” (送別). PoemWell. English translation by PoemWell. Updated .

https://poemwell.org/poems/wang-zhihuan-willow-farewell

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