As many of you know, I’ve been posting poems from my Chinese poetry class on this blog, in case anyone reading this might be interested in delving into the world of Chinese poetry. In true Chinese teaching style, we have to memorize one or two poems every week, and since our teacher tries to choose poems that are both important but also not too difficult for us to understand and memorize, this collection of poems seems like a good place to start for students of Chinese who are interested in Chinese poetry.
We’re going through the poetry in chronological order, and we have now reached the early Tang dynasty （both of the poems below are from the 7th century AD).
The first poem is by 王勃, and is about saying goodbye to a friend who is leaving to take a post in a faraway kingdom. The third line in this poem, “海内存知己，天涯若比邻”, is often quoted in Chinese to express feeling close to a friend or loved one despite being far away from each other.
送杜少府之任蜀州
〖唐〗 王勃
城阙辅三秦，风烟望五津。
与君离别意，同是宦游人。
海内存知己，天涯若比邻。
无为在歧路，儿女共沾巾。
Translation into English, from wiktionary:
Seeing off Vice-prefect Du on the occasion of his appointment to the state of Shu
The watch towers are protected by the three Qin states, I can make out the land of the five crossings in the distance.
My mood (is somber) as I part from you, We are both officials traveling (far from home).
When one has a close friend in this world, the far ends of heaven are like next door.
(Therefore, when we reach the) fork in the road (where we must part), let us not exchange kerchiefs moistened (with tears like) women and children.
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The second poem for this week is by 陈子昂, and is about feeling lonely when reflecting over how short a human life is in the great expanse of history.
登幽州台歌
〖唐〗陈子昂
前不见古人，后不见来者。
念天地之悠悠，独怆然而涕下！