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Laolao Ting, A Tavern

Li Bai 701-762 Here friends come, sorrowing, to say farewell, O Laolao Ting, tavern where every heart must ache. Here even the wind of spring knows the pain of parting, And will not let the willow branches grow green.

Láoláo Tíng

Lǐ Bái 701-762 Tiānxià shāngxīn chù Láoláo sòng kè tíng Chūn fēng zhī bié kǔ Bù qiǎn liǔtiáo qīng

Translator:

Shigeyoshi Obata 小畑薰良

Notes: The tavern was situated on a hill-top just outside the city of Nanjing; and the people seeing their friends off came as far as this place to exchange parting cups. We don't know the exact location of this tavern. The photo above is of the famous Yanziji, outside downtown Nanjing, on the shore of the Changjiang The last line alludes to the Chinese custom of breaking off a willow branch and presenting it to a departing friend. ____________ From the book The Works of Li Po, first published in Tokyo, Japan in 1935, Excellent English translations by a Shigeyoshi Obata, a Japanese scholar.

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