Home › Poems › Farewell to Yuan Er on His Mission to Anxi
Sòng Yuán Èr Shǐ Ān XīFarewell to Yuan Er on His Mission to Anxi 送元二使安西
Wang Wei's farewell toast became China's parting song.
Original Chinese text with pinyin
渭城朝雨浥轻尘
wèi chéng zhāo yǔ yì qīng chén
客舍青青柳色新
kè shè qīng qīng liǔ sè xīn
劝君更尽一杯酒
quàn jūn gèng jìn yī bēi jiǔ
西出阳关无故人
xī chū yáng guān wú gù rén
Simplified characters; traditional title: 送元二使安西.
English translation
No dust is raised on pathways wet with morning rain;
The willows by the tavern look so fresh and green.
I urge you to drink another cup of wine again:
West of the Sunny Pass no more friends will be seen.
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
The first half is fresh and bright: rain has washed the dust, willows glow green. Willow (liu) puns on "stay" (liu), and willow sprigs were broken off as parting gifts, so the scenery already speaks of farewell. The second half is all in one gesture — "one more cup" — because beyond Yang Pass lies desert and no friends. The emotion is never stated; it is poured into the cup.
Background
Written as Wang Wei saw off his friend Yuan Er, sent on official business to the Anxi Protectorate in Central Asia. Set to music as "Three Refrains at Yang Pass" (阳关三叠), it was sung at farewells for centuries.
Key words
- 渭城 Wèichéng
- a town near Chang'an
- 浥 yì
- to moisten
- 阳关 Yángguān
- Yang Pass, gateway to the western regions
- 故人 gù rén
- old friend
About the poet: Wang Wei
Wang Wei was a poet, painter, musician and court official. A devout Buddhist, he wrote spare, luminous landscape verse; later critics said there is "a painting in his poems and a poem in his paintings." He is sometimes called the "Buddha of Poetry."
Lifetime: c. 699–761. Other famous works: Miscellaneous Poem (You Have Come from Home) (杂诗); Farewell (Dismounting to Drink) (送别); Autumn Evening in the Mountains (山居秋暝); Longing (相思); Deer Park (鹿柴); Bamboo Grove Retreat (竹里馆); Farewell to Yuan the Second on His Mission to Anxi (送元二使安西); Thinking of My Brothers on the Double Ninth (九月九日忆山东兄弟); Birdsong in the Ravine (鸟鸣涧); Joys of the Countryside (田园乐); Floating on the Han River (汉江临泛); In the Mountains (山中); Farewell in the Mountains (山中送别); Long Rain at Wangchuan (积雨辋川庄作); Magnolia Bank (辛夷坞); Seeing Off Shen Zifu (送沈子福之江东); Reply to Vice-Prefect Zhang (酬张少府); A Quiet Matter (书事); Song of Youth (少年行); My Retreat at Zhongnan (终南别业); Seeing Off Prefect Li of Zizhou (送梓州李使君).
Names from this poem
More by Wang Wei
- Deer Park鹿柴
- Bamboo Grove Retreat竹里馆
- Thinking of My Brothers on the Double Ninth九月九日忆山东兄弟
- Farewell (Dismounting to Drink)送别
- Autumn Evening in the Mountains山居秋暝
- Longing相思
- Miscellaneous Poem (You Have Come from Home)杂诗
- Birdsong in the Ravine鸟鸣涧