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Jīn Líng TúThe Painting of Jinling 金陵图
Wei Zhuang's willows outlast six fallen dynasties.
Original Chinese text with pinyin
江雨霏霏江草齐
jiāng yǔ fēi fēi jiāng cǎo qí
六朝如梦鸟空啼
liù cháo rú mèng niǎo kōng tí
无情最是台城柳
wú qíng zuì shì tái chéng liǔ
依旧烟笼十里堤
yī jiù yān lóng shí lǐ dī
Simplified characters; traditional title: 金陵圖.
English translation
River rain falls fine; the river grass grows even.
The Six Dynasties are a dream; birds cry in vain.
Most heartless are the willows of Taicheng—
Still they veil ten li of embankment in mist.
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
Rain, grass and bird calls create a hazy, dreamlike scene in which the great dynasties have vanished. The twist is in calling the willows "heartless": they keep growing green as if nothing happened. Blaming the willows is a way of expressing grief that people feel, and a warning that the Tang may go the same way.
Background
Jinling (Nanjing) was the capital of the Six Dynasties (3rd–6th centuries). Wei Zhuang wrote this as the Tang itself was collapsing. The title in some sources is 台城.
Key words
- 霏霏 fēi fēi
- fine, thick rain
- 六朝 liù cháo
- the Six Dynasties
- 台城 Táichéng
- the old palace city of Nanjing
About the poet: Wei Zhuang
Wei Zhuang lived through the collapse of the Tang and served the state of Former Shu as chief minister. He is known for his long narrative poem on the Huang Chao rebellion and for early ci (song lyrics).
Lifetime: c. 836–910. Other famous works: The Painting of Jinling (金陵图); Lament of the Lady of Qin (秦妇吟).