Taking Leave, Wang Wei (300 Tang Shi #13)
Friday, 30 September 2022 08:38![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lnhammerDismount your horse and toast the wine—
I ask you, where is it you’re going?
You say you aren’t proud of yourself.
I’m heading back to Zhongnan’s foot.
I’ll leave now—you again won’t listen
Though white clouds last for endless ages.
送别
下马饮君酒，
问君何所之？
君言不得意，
归卧南山陲。
但去莫复闻，
白云无尽时。
Wang uses a few honorific forms here, so he’s saying farewell to someone of higher rank, but there’s also some asperity here. Many texts have 问 “ask” instead of 闻 “hear” in line 5, and it’s very tempting to emend so my base text: “I’m not gonna ask you again.”
---L.
I ask you, where is it you’re going?
You say you aren’t proud of yourself.
I’m heading back to Zhongnan’s foot.
I’ll leave now—you again won’t listen
Though white clouds last for endless ages.
送别
下马饮君酒，
问君何所之？
君言不得意，
归卧南山陲。
但去莫复闻，
白云无尽时。
Wang uses a few honorific forms here, so he’s saying farewell to someone of higher rank, but there’s also some asperity here. Many texts have 问 “ask” instead of 闻 “hear” in line 5, and it’s very tempting to emend so my base text: “I’m not gonna ask you again.”
---L.