POEM
九月九日忆山东兄弟Jiǔ Yuè Jiǔ Rì Yì Shān Dōng Xiōng DìThinking of My Brothers on the Double Ninth Festival
- Dynasty
- Tang
- Author
- 王维 Wáng Wéi (Wang Wei)
- Genre
- 七言绝句
- Lines
- 4
- Era
- c. 8th century
THE POEM — LINE BY LINE
Tap a line for word-by-word gloss.
#1独在异乡为异客Dú zài yì xiāng wéi yì kèAlone, in a strange land, a stranger among strangers,word by word
独dúalone在zàibe at; in异yìstrange; foreign (异乡: a strange land)乡xiānghometown; place为wéito be; act as异yìstrange; foreign (异客: a stranger)客kèguest; stranger#2每逢佳节倍思亲Měi féng jiā jié bèi sī qīnon every festival I miss my family twice as much.word by word
每měievery逢féngmeet; come upon佳jiāfine; good (佳节: festival)节jiéfestival; holiday倍bèidoubly; twice as much思sīmiss; think of亲qīnfamily; dear ones#3遥知兄弟登高处Yáo zhī xiōng dì dēng gāo chùI know that far away my brothers are climbing the heights,word by word
遥yáofar off知zhīknow兄xiōngelder brother (兄弟: brothers)弟dìyounger brother (兄弟: brothers)登dēngclimb高gāohigh (登高: climb high — the Double Ninth custom)处chùplace#4遍插茱萸少一人Biàn chā zhū yú shǎo yī rénwith dogwood sprigs pinned on everyone — everyone but me.word by word
遍biàneverywhere; all插chāpin; stick in茱zhūdogwood (茱萸: cornel sprig)萸yúdogwood (茱萸: cornel sprig)少shǎobe short of; lack一yīone人rénperson
POEM IN PLAIN ENGLISH
A plain-English guide, not a literary translationAlone in a strange land, a stranger among strangers, on every festival I miss my family twice as much. Far away, I know, my brothers are climbing the heights with dogwood sprigs pinned on — everyone is there, except one. The poem was written when Wang Wei was seventeen, and its second line has become the standard Chinese phrase for holiday homesickness. This is a plain-English guide, not a literary translation.
BACKGROUND & IMAGERY
The Double Ninth (重阳节), the ninth day of the ninth month, was the autumn festival for climbing hills and wearing dogwood as protection. Wang Wei wrote the poem while studying in the capital, far from his home in Shanxi — hence 山东 ('east of the mountain', i.e. east of Mount Hua, where his family lived; it does not mean today's Shandong province). He imagines the scene not from his own lonely point of view but from his brothers', noticing only that one person is missing.
TRUST & SOURCES
- Reviewed by
- AI-assisted editorial review
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-15
Sources
- 《唐诗三百首》通行本（中华书局点校本）
- 本站飞花令语料 feihualing.db（poem 397025） — 文本以通行本为准，库本仅行级参考（库本与通行本一致）
- Original English paraphrase & gloss — 本站原创学习释义，非文学译本（plain-English guide, not a literary translation）
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