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An Autumn Day Journeying to Chang’an, Inscribed in the Tower of the Tong Pass Post Station, Xu Hun
The red leaves in the evening look so dreary.
At the rest house, wine—a single ladle.
Broken clouds return to great Mt. Hua,
A scanty rainfall passes Zhongtiao Ridge.
Tree colors match the far-off mountains.
The river splashes toward the distant sea.
Tomorrow I’ll arrive at the emperor’s home
But I still dream of cutting wood and fishing.
秋日赴阙题潼关驿楼
红叶晚萧萧，
长亭酒一瓢。
残云归太华，
疏雨过中条。
树色随山迥，
河声入海遥。
帝乡明日到，
犹自梦渔樵。
Tong Pass, near the confluence of the Wei and Yellow rivers, is the gateway between Shaanxi and the Central Plains. Idiom: in the title, he’s literally traveling to a “watchtower of the imperial palace,” which usually stands in for the entire palace or the capital itself. Rest houses for travelers, literally “long pavilions,” were set up every 10 li (5km/3mi) along the main roads. The road between Tong and Chang’an passes by both Mt. Hua and Mt. Zhongtiao (the latter now better known as Mt. Leishou).
The fishing and woodcutting kinda come out of nowhere, but the images of discontent and of small things coming to large otherwise nicely reflect the speaker’s situation.
---L.
The red leaves in the evening look so dreary.
At the rest house, wine—a single ladle.
Broken clouds return to great Mt. Hua,
A scanty rainfall passes Zhongtiao Ridge.
Tree colors match the far-off mountains.
The river splashes toward the distant sea.
Tomorrow I’ll arrive at the emperor’s home
But I still dream of cutting wood and fishing.
秋日赴阙题潼关驿楼
红叶晚萧萧，
长亭酒一瓢。
残云归太华，
疏雨过中条。
树色随山迥，
河声入海遥。
帝乡明日到，
犹自梦渔樵。
Tong Pass, near the confluence of the Wei and Yellow rivers, is the gateway between Shaanxi and the Central Plains. Idiom: in the title, he’s literally traveling to a “watchtower of the imperial palace,” which usually stands in for the entire palace or the capital itself. Rest houses for travelers, literally “long pavilions,” were set up every 10 li (5km/3mi) along the main roads. The road between Tong and Chang’an passes by both Mt. Hua and Mt. Zhongtiao (the latter now better known as Mt. Leishou).
The fishing and woodcutting kinda come out of nowhere, but the images of discontent and of small things coming to large otherwise nicely reflect the speaker’s situation.
---L.