Mooring on the Tonglu River, to an Old Friend in Guangling
English translation and interpretation are being reviewed.
沧江急夜流。
风鸣两岸叶，
月照一孤舟。
建德非吾土，
维扬忆旧游。
还将两行泪，
遥寄海西头。
English translation
The hills darken; I hear the gibbons' grief, the gray river hurries through the night.
The wind sighs in the leaves along both banks, the moon shines on a single lonely boat.
Jiande is not my own land, at Weiyang I remember old companions.
Once more I send these two lines of tears, far away, to the western end of the sea.
Meaning
The hills grow dark and the gibbons' cries make me sad, and the Tong River runs east in the vast dusk, day and night.
On both banks the wind stirs the trees and the leaves rustle, and the moon like water shines on a lone boat by the river.
Fine as the scenery of Jiande is, it is not my native land, and I still think of my old friends in Yangzhou.
Remembering and longing, I cannot hold back two streams of tears; gazing toward the far west of the sea, I send my sorrow to Yangzhou.
Background
Read the background
Having failed the examinations, the poet left Chang'an and, to dispel his gloom, wandered for a time through the region of the Huai and the Yangtze. "Mooring on the Tonglu River, Sent to Old Friends in Guangling" was written as he spent the night on the Tonglu River and thought of his old friends in Yangzhou.