Birthday poem · September 6End of Heat, the 14th solar term: the summer heat eases.

Birthday poem card for September 6: “Farewell to Vice-Prefect Du on His Way to Shuzhou” by Wang Bo. Birth character 海, sea.

Birth character

海 hǎi · sea

海 combines 水 "water" with 每 as a sound element; it means sea.

黃河入海流
“The Yellow River seawards flows.” — Wang Zhihuan, ‘Climbing Stork Tower’

Other dates with this poem: November 7

The poem

“Farewell to Vice-Prefect Du on His Way to Shuzhou” 送杜少府之任蜀州

  1. 城闕輔三秦chéng què fǔ sān qínThe city walls and gates are guarded by the Three Qin;
  2. 風煙望五津fēng yān wàng wǔ jīnthrough wind and mist I gaze toward the Five Fords.
  3. 與君離別意yǔ jūn lí bié yìThe feeling of parting I share with you,
  4. 同是宦遊人tóng shì huàn yóu rénfor we are both men who travel for office.
  5. 海內存知己hǎi nèi cún zhī jǐIf you have a friend who knows your heart,
  6. 天涯若比鄰tiān yá ruò bǐ líndistance cannot keep you apart.
  7. 無爲在岐路wú wéi zài qí lùSo let us not, at the fork in the road,
  8. 兒女共沾巾ér nǚ gòng zhān jīnlike children, wet our handkerchiefs with tears.

Wang Bo 王勃 · Tang dynasty · c. 650–676 · five-character verse

English translation by Poetune.

Read “Farewell to Vice-Prefect Du on His Way to Shuzhou” in full, with notes →

Why this poem

Wang Bo sees a friend off to Sichuan: "a true friend makes the world's ends close".

This day in the Chinese calendar

Solar term: End of Heat.

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