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Wū Yī XiàngBlack Robe Lane 乌衣巷
Liu Yuxi's swallows outlast the great families.
Original Chinese text with pinyin
朱雀桥边野草花
zhū què qiáo biān yě cǎo huā
乌衣巷口夕阳斜
wū yī xiàng kǒu xī yáng xié
旧时王谢堂前燕
jiù shí wáng xiè táng qián yàn
飞入寻常百姓家
fēi rù xún cháng bǎi xìng jiā
Simplified characters; traditional title: 烏衣巷.
English translation
By Red Bird Bridge wild grasses bloom;
At Black Robe Lane the setting sun slants low.
Swallows that once nested in Wang and Xie halls
Now fly into the homes of common folk.
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
Wild grass by a famous bridge and the low evening sun suggest decline. The second couplet offers the brilliant image of swallows, which return to the same place each year, now nesting in commoners' houses. Nothing has moved but history: the great families are gone. The poem says it without one word of comment.
Background
One of five poems on old sites of Jinling (Nanjing). Black Robe Lane was the residence of the Wang and Xie clans, the most powerful families of the Eastern Jin.
Key words
- 朱雀桥 Zhūquè Qiáo
- Vermilion Bird Bridge
- 王谢 Wáng Xiè
- the Wang and Xie clans
- 寻常百姓 xún cháng bǎi xìng
- ordinary people
About the poet: Liu Yuxi
Liu Yuxi, a close friend of Liu Zongyuan and Bai Juyi, spent over twenty years in exile after the failed reform of 805. Bai Juyi called him the "hero of poetry" for his resilient, witty spirit.
Lifetime: 772–842. Other famous works: Black Robe Lane (乌衣巷); Autumn Song (秋词); The Autumn Wind (秋风引); An Inscription for My Humble Room (陋室铭); Gazing at Dongting (望洞庭); Bamboo Branch Song (竹枝词); Waves Washing Sand (浪淘沙); Admiring Peonies (赏牡丹); Autumn Song II (秋词).
More by Liu Yuxi
- Autumn Song秋词
- The Autumn Wind秋风引
- Gazing at Dongting望洞庭
- Bamboo Branch Song竹枝词
- Waves Washing Sand浪淘沙
- Admiring Peonies赏牡丹
- Autumn Song II秋词