Learn by Songs 2 — Day 2 — To Wang Lun
Li Bai wrote this poem for Wang Lun, a village host who had entertained him warmly during a visit to Anhui province. As Li Bai's boat was about to depart, he suddenly heard Wang Lun and villagers on the shore singing and stomping out a rhythm in farewell — a spontaneous send-off that moved the poet enough to compare it to the deepest pool in the region.
Today's Vocabulary
乘舟
to board a boat
李白乘舟将欲行，
Lǐ Bái chéng zhōu jiāng yù xíng,
Li Bai has boarded his boat, about to depart,
忽闻
to suddenly hear
忽闻岸上踏歌声。
Hū wén àn shàng tà gē shēng.
when suddenly he hears foot-stomping song from the shore.
踏歌
foot-stomping song
忽闻岸上踏歌声。
Hū wén àn shàng tà gē shēng.
when suddenly he hears foot-stomping song from the shore.
桃花潭
Peach Blossom Pool
桃花潭水深千尺，
Táohuā Tán shuǐ shēn qiān chǐ,
Even Peach Blossom Pool, a thousand feet deep,
千尺
a thousand feet, very deep
桃花潭水深千尺，
Táohuā Tán shuǐ shēn qiān chǐ,
Even Peach Blossom Pool, a thousand feet deep,
情
feeling, affection
不及汪伦送我情。
Bù jí Wāng Lún sòng wǒ qíng.
does not match the depth of feeling Wang Lun sees me off with.
Today's Grammar
The final line's comparison — 'not as deep as the feeling Wang Lun sees me off with' — is a simple but famous device: taking something physically measurable (a thousand-foot-deep pool) and declaring an emotion even greater than it, a technique still used in Chinese expressions of friendship today.
李白乘舟将欲行，
Li Bai has boarded his boat, about to depart,
忽闻岸上踏歌声。
when suddenly he hears foot-stomping song from the shore.
桃花潭水深千尺，
Even Peach Blossom Pool, a thousand feet deep,
不及汪伦送我情。
does not match the depth of feeling Wang Lun sees me off with.