From Xiakou to Parrot Isle, Gazing at Yueyang at Dusk
English translation and interpretation are being reviewed.
楚客相思益渺然。
汉口夕阳斜渡鸟，
洞庭秋水远连天。
孤城背岭寒吹角，
独树临江夜泊船。
贾谊上书忧汉室，
长沙谪去古今怜。
English translation
The sandbars have no waves and no mist, the traveler in Chu longs the more, the farther his thoughts.
At Hankou, the setting sun, birds crossing aslant, the autumn waters of Dongting stretch far to join the sky.
A lonely city backs on the ridge, a cold horn blowing, a single tree by the river, where at night the boat is moored.
Jia Yi sent up a memorial, grieving for the house of Han, banished to Changsha, he is pitied by men of every age.
Meaning
Parrot Isle floats amid the Yangtze; there is neither wind nor wave upon the river, nor any haze of mist. My longing, a stranger in Chu, is like the river's boundless flood.
The setting sun slants upon Hankou, where the birds wing homeward in flocks; the autumn waters of Dongting stretch in smoky vastness to the blue sky.
From the lone city backed by hills the bugle sounds, and every note is piercing and cold; beside a single tree upon the bank a lonely boat lies moored at night.
Long ago Jia Yi presented his memorial to Emperor Wen out of anxious care for the house of Han; yet he was banished to dwell in Changsha, who through all the ages has not grieved for him!
Background
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This poem was written when the poet was serving as acting transport commissioner of Ezhou during the Zhide era (reign title of Emperor Suzong of Tang, 756–758) and made an inspection tour of the Xiakou area. Setting out by boat from Xiakou, he reached Parrot Isle as the sun was setting; stirred by what he saw, he wrote this poem and sent it to Yuan Zhongcheng, far away on the shores of Dongting Lake.