To Someone Far Away
A lingering dream after parting brings me to the Xie household;
Small corridors wind around, and curved railings slant away.
Only the spring moon over the courtyard seems tender still,
Shining on fallen blossoms for one who is apart.
Notes
The title addresses an unnamed person. A dream after parting returns to a household; Xie is often read as a literary reference to the person remembered. The corridors wind around a courtyard.
Meaning
A dream returns the speaker to a remembered household; the moon seems to shine on fallen blossoms for someone separated.
Appreciation
A dream carries longing back to a household without naming the recipient directly.
Read the full appreciationCollapse
Corridors and railings make the remembered space visible.
The moon is imagined as tender, still shining on fallen flowers for someone separated.
The exact identities remain open to different readings.
About the poet
Zhang Bi, courtesy name Zicheng, was a poet and lyric writer of the late Tang and Five Dynasties; his dates are unknown.
Read about the poetCollapse
Poems and lyrics survive under Zhang Bi’s name, including To Someone Far Away. Scholars differ over whether records of similarly named writers refer to one person and over his origin.