凉州词
Liáng Zhōu Cí
Song of Liangzhou
王之涣 (Wang Zhihuan) · Tang Dynasty · 688–742
Original Text
黄河远上白云间，
huáng hé yuǎn shàng bái yún jiān,
一片孤城万仞山。
yī piàn gū chéng wàn rèn shān.
羌笛何须怨杨柳，
qiāng dí hé xū yuàn yáng liǔ,
春风不度玉门关。
chūn fēng bù dù yù mén guān.
English Translation
The Yellow River rises far into the white clouds; a lonely fortress city stands amid mountains ten thousand feet high. Why should the Qiang flute complain about the willows? The spring wind never crosses the Jade Gate Pass.
Historical Background
One of the greatest frontier poems (边塞诗) of the Tang Dynasty. Wang Zhihuan wrote this while stationed at the northwestern border. Liangzhou (modern Wuwei, Gansu) was a frontier garrison town on the Silk Road. The Jade Gate Pass (Yumen Guan) marked the western boundary of the Chinese empire, beyond which lay the vast desert of Central Asia.
Literary Analysis
The poem builds from the grandest possible image — the Yellow River seeming to flow upward into the clouds — to the intimate sound of a soldier's flute. The "willow" in the third line references the folk song "Breaking Willows" (折杨柳), traditionally played at partings, as travelers would break willow branches as farewell gifts. The final line is devastating in its simplicity: the spring wind (warmth, civilization, home) literally cannot reach this place beyond the pass. It expresses the loneliness of frontier soldiers with an understatement that makes it all the more powerful.
Details
Form
Seven-character Quatrain (七言绝句)
Theme
War & Frontier
About Wang Zhihuan (王之涣)
Wang Zhihuan was a Tang Dynasty poet famous for his frontier poetry. Though only six of his poems survive, two of them — 'Climbing Stork Tower' and 'Song of Liangzhou' — are among the most beloved and frequently recited poems in the Chinese language.
2 poems by Wang Zhihuan in our collection
Traditional Chinese
黃河遠上白雲間，一片孤城萬仞山。羌笛何須怨楊柳，春風不度玉門關。