Home › Poems › Song of Qiupu (White Hair)
Qiū Pǔ GēSong of Qiupu (White Hair) 秋浦歌
Li Bai's famous exaggeration: hair three thousand zhang long.
Original Chinese text with pinyin
白发三千丈
bái fà sān qiān zhàng
缘愁似个长
yuán chóu sì gè cháng
不知明镜里
bù zhī míng jìng lǐ
何处得秋霜
hé chù dé qiū shuāng
Simplified characters; traditional title: 秋浦歌.
English translation
Long, long is my whitening hair;
Long, long is it laden with care.
I look into my mirror bright.
From where comes autumn frost in sight?
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
The opening line is the most famous hyperbole in Chinese poetry — "白发三千丈" (white hair thirty thousand feet long) — and it only makes sense after the second line explains it is the length of sorrow. Then the poet sees his reflection and is shocked. White hair is "autumn frost," appearing as if overnight. The playful exaggeration makes the grief more striking.
Background
The fifteenth of seventeen "Qiupu Songs," written around 754 in Qiupu (Anhui).
Key words
- 三千丈 sān qiān zhàng
- three thousand zhang (about 10 km)
- 缘 yuán
- because of
- 秋霜 qiū shuāng
- autumn frost, i.e. white hair
About the poet: Li Bai
Li Bai (also romanized Li Po; courtesy name Taibai) is celebrated as the "Immortal of Poetry." Raised in Sichuan, he spent much of his life wandering, briefly served at the court of Emperor Xuanzong in Chang'an, and is remembered for his love of wine, the moon and untamed nature. He and Du Fu are regarded as the two greatest poets of the Tang dynasty.
Lifetime: 701–762. Other famous works: Farewell to a Friend (送友人); Song of Qiupu (White Hair) (秋浦歌); Midnight Song of Wu (Autumn) (子夜吴歌); Question and Answer in the Mountains (山中问答); For Wang Lun (赠汪伦); The Road Is Hard (行路难); Sitting Alone Facing Jingting Mountain (独坐敬亭山); Written as a Traveler (客中作); Song of the Moon over Mount Emei (峨眉山月歌); Resentment (怨情); Farewell to Meng Haoran at Yellow Crane Tower (黄鹤楼送孟浩然之广陵); Quiet Night Thoughts (静夜思); Bring In the Wine (将进酒); Drinking Alone Under the Moon (月下独酌); Viewing the Waterfall at Mount Lu (望庐山瀑布); Leaving Baidi City at Dawn (早发白帝城); The Hard Road to Shu (蜀道难); Gazing at Tianmen Mountain (望天门山); Song of Changgan (长干行); Boating on Dongting Lake (陪族叔刑部侍郞晔及中书贾舎人至游洞庭); Song of the Yue Girl (越女词); Visiting a Taoist on Mount Daitian (访戴天山道士不遇); Easing My Heart (自遣); A Summer Day in the Mountains (夏日山中); Farewell at a Jinling Tavern (金陵酒肆留别); Song of the Bright Moon (古朗月行); Drinking on Dragon Mountain on the Ninth (九日龙山饮); Drinking with a Hermit in the Mountains (山中与幽人对酌); Song of Pure Peace (清平调 其一); Song of Pure Peace III (清平调 其三); Song of Youth (少年行); Down Through Jingmen in Autumn (秋下荆门); Crossing Jingmen (渡荆门送别); Staying the Night at a Mountain Temple (夜宿山寺); For Meng Haoran (赠孟浩然).
More by Li Bai
- Quiet Night Thoughts静夜思
- Farewell to Meng Haoran at Yellow Crane Tower黄鹤楼送孟浩然之广陵
- Leaving Baidi City at Dawn早发白帝城
- Viewing the Waterfall at Mount Lu望庐山瀑布
- Drinking Alone Under the Moon月下独酌
- Midnight Song of Wu (Autumn)子夜吴歌
- Song of the Moon over Mount Emei峨眉山月歌
- Farewell to a Friend送友人