POEM
送元二使安西Sòng Yuán Èr Shǐ Ān XīSeeing Yuan Er Off to Anxi
- 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渭城朝雨浥轻尘Wèi chéng zhāo yǔ yì qīng chénAt Weicheng the morning rain has laid the light dust;word by word
渭wèithe Wei River (渭城: Weicheng, near today's Xi'an)城chéngcity (渭城: Weicheng)朝zhāomorning雨yǔrain浥yìmoisten; damp down轻qīnglight尘chéndust#2客舍青青柳色新Kè shè qīng qīng liǔ sè xīnthe guesthouse is green, and the willows look freshly washed.word by word
客kèguest; traveler舍shèhouse; lodge (客舍: guesthouse)青qīnggreen (青青: fresh green)青qīnggreen (青青: fresh green)柳liǔwillow色sècolor新xīnnew; fresh#3劝君更尽一杯酒Quàn jūn gèng jìn yī bēi jiǔCome, drink one more cup of wine with me —word by word
#4西出阳关无故人Xī chū yáng guān wú gù rénfor west of Yang Pass there will be no old friend.word by word
西xīwest出chūgo out of; leave阳yángsunny side (阳关: Yang Pass, the last gate to the west)关guānpass (阳关: Yang Pass)无wúnot; without故gùold; former (故人: old friend)人rénperson; friend
POEM IN PLAIN ENGLISH
A plain-English guide, not a literary translationAt Weicheng the morning rain has laid the light dust; the guesthouse is green, and the willows look freshly washed. Come — drink one more cup of wine with me: west of Yang Pass there will be no old friend. The poem is a farewell at the very edge of China, and it became so famous that it was turned into a song — 阳关三叠, 'Three Refrains on Yang Pass' — which is still played today. This is a plain-English guide, not a literary translation.
BACKGROUND & IMAGERY
Wang Wei wrote this to see off a friend known only as Yuan Er, on official duty to Anxi in the far northwest, beyond today's Gansu. Everything in the scene — the fresh rain, the green willows, the last cup of wine — is a farewell gesture, and the final line's 'no old friend' turns the road west into a road out of the known world. Because of the poem, 阳关 has become the Chinese name for the threshold of parting.
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，题作《渭城曲》）
- 本站飞花令语料 feihualing.db（poem 397011） — 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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