Home › Poems › The Hard Road to Shu
Shǔ Dào NánThe Hard Road to Shu 蜀道难
Li Bai's thunderous song of the mountain road to Sichuan.
Original Chinese text with pinyin
噫吁戏，危乎高哉
yī xū xī, wēi hū gāo zāi
蜀道之难难于上青天
shǔ dào zhī nán nán yú shàng qīng tiān
蚕丛及鱼凫
cán cóng jí yú fú
开国何茫然
kāi guó hé máng rán
尔来四万八千岁
ěr lái sì wàn bā qiān suì
不与秦塞通人烟
bù yǔ qín sài tōng rén yān
Simplified characters; traditional title: 蜀道難. This is a long poem; only the best-known lines are shown, and “……” marks omitted passages.
English translation
Ah! How perilous, how high!
The road to Shu is hard — harder than climbing the blue sky!
Cancong and Yufu,
how hazy the founding of their kingdom!
Since then, forty-eight thousand years,
no human smoke passed to the borders of Qin.
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
The poem opens with a cry, three exclamations piled up, before the refrain "the road to Shu is hard, harder than climbing the blue sky." Irregular lines, mythic history and huge numbers create a sense of overwhelming scale. The full poem describes cliffs, plank roads and danger, and is also read as a warning about political peril.
Background
Written around 742–744. Shu (Sichuan) was cut off from the Qin region (Shaanxi) by steep mountains; Cancong and Yufu were legendary early kings of Shu. He Zhizhang is said to have called Li Bai a "banished immortal" after reading it. Only the opening is shown.
Key words
- 噫吁戏 yī xū xī
- "Ah! Oh!" — an exclamation of awe
- 蚕丛 Cáncóng
- a legendary king of Shu
- 鱼凫 Yúfú
- another legendary king of Shu
- 秦塞 qín sài
- the borders of Qin
About the poet: Li Bai
Li Bai (also romanized Li Po; courtesy name Taibai) is celebrated as the "Immortal of Poetry." Raised in Sichuan, he spent much of his life wandering, briefly served at the court of Emperor Xuanzong in Chang'an, and is remembered for his love of wine, the moon and untamed nature. He and Du Fu are regarded as the two greatest poets of the Tang dynasty.
Lifetime: 701–762. Other famous works: Farewell to a Friend (送友人); Song of Qiupu (White Hair) (秋浦歌); Midnight Song of Wu (Autumn) (子夜吴歌); Question and Answer in the Mountains (山中问答); For Wang Lun (赠汪伦); The Road Is Hard (行路难); Sitting Alone Facing Jingting Mountain (独坐敬亭山); Written as a Traveler (客中作); Song of the Moon over Mount Emei (峨眉山月歌); Resentment (怨情); Farewell to Meng Haoran at Yellow Crane Tower (黄鹤楼送孟浩然之广陵); Quiet Night Thoughts (静夜思); Bring In the Wine (将进酒); Drinking Alone Under the Moon (月下独酌); Viewing the Waterfall at Mount Lu (望庐山瀑布); Leaving Baidi City at Dawn (早发白帝城); The Hard Road to Shu (蜀道难).
More by Li Bai
- Quiet Night Thoughts静夜思
- Farewell to Meng Haoran at Yellow Crane Tower黄鹤楼送孟浩然之广陵
- Leaving Baidi City at Dawn早发白帝城
- Viewing the Waterfall at Mount Lu望庐山瀑布
- Drinking Alone Under the Moon月下独酌
- Midnight Song of Wu (Autumn)子夜吴歌
- Song of the Moon over Mount Emei峨眉山月歌
- Song of Qiupu (White Hair)秋浦歌