Seeing County Officer Du Off to Shuzhou
The capital’s towers are guarded by the lands of Three Qin;
Through wind and haze I look toward the Five Fords.
As I part from you, I remember
We both travel far from home in official service.
When a true friend lives within the four seas,
Even at the world’s edge we are as close as neighbours.
Let us not stand at the fork in the road
And wet our kerchiefs with parting tears.
Notes
Shaofu was a title for a local official. Shuzhou was in present-day Sichuan. Three Qin refers to the region around Chang’an, while the Five Fords evoke the destination in Shu. Official service takes both friends away from home; “within the four seas” means throughout the known world.
Meaning
Seeing a friend off to Shu, the poet recalls their shared life away from home and offers reassurance that distance cannot erase friendship.
Appreciation
The opening joins Chang’an and distant Shu through the act of looking toward the journey ahead.
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Rather than describing grief at length, the speaker recalls that both friends serve away from home.
The contrast between the world’s edge and a nearby neighbour makes emotional closeness vivid across physical distance.
The closing asks the friends not to dwell on tears, offering encouragement at the fork where they part.
About the poet
Wang Bo (c. 650–c. 676), courtesy name Zi’an, was an early Tang poet from Longmen in Jiangzhou.
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Wang Bo is counted among the Four Eminent Poets of the Early Tang. His surviving works include the Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng and this farewell poem. Sources differ on his exact dates.