Home › Poems › Leaving Baidi City at Dawn
Zǎo Fā Bái Dì ChéngLeaving Baidi City at Dawn 早发白帝城
Li Bai's joyful race down the Yangtze after a pardon.
Original Chinese text with pinyin
朝辞白帝彩云间
zhāo cí bái dì cǎi yún jiān
千里江陵一日还
qiān lǐ jiāng líng yī rì huán
两岸猿声啼不住
liǎng àn yuán shēng tí bù zhù
轻舟已过万重山
qīng zhōu yǐ guò wàn chóng shān
Simplified characters; traditional title: 早發白帝城.
English translation
Leaving at dawn the White Emperor crowned with cloud,
I've sailed a thousand li through canyons in a day.
With monkeys' sad adieus the riverbanks are loud;
My skiff has left ten thousand mountains far away.
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
Everything in the poem is speed and relief. A thousand li in a day is an exaggeration, but it feels true. Gibbon cries, a traditional sound of sadness in the Gorges, here merely blur past, and the "light boat" (also the lightened heart) has already shot past countless peaks. Few poems capture joy so physically.
Background
Written in 759. Li Bai had been exiled to Yelang in the far southwest for joining Prince Yong's rebellion, and was pardoned at Baidi (in Chongqing) on the way. He turned around and sped downriver through the Three Gorges.
Key words
- 彩云 cǎi yún
- colorful clouds
- 江陵 Jiānglíng
- a city in Hubei
- 啼不住 tí bù zhù
- calling without stop
- 万重山 wàn chóng shān
- ten thousand mountains
About the poet: Li Bai
Li Bai (also romanized Li Po; courtesy name Taibai) is celebrated as the "Immortal of Poetry." Raised in Sichuan, he spent much of his life wandering, briefly served at the court of Emperor Xuanzong in Chang'an, and is remembered for his love of wine, the moon and untamed nature. He and Du Fu are regarded as the two greatest poets of the Tang dynasty.
Lifetime: 701–762. Other famous works: Farewell to a Friend (送友人); Song of Qiupu (White Hair) (秋浦歌); Midnight Song of Wu (Autumn) (子夜吴歌); Question and Answer in the Mountains (山中问答); For Wang Lun (赠汪伦); The Road Is Hard (行路难); Sitting Alone Facing Jingting Mountain (独坐敬亭山); Written as a Traveler (客中作); Song of the Moon over Mount Emei (峨眉山月歌); Resentment (怨情); Farewell to Meng Haoran at Yellow Crane Tower (黄鹤楼送孟浩然之广陵); Quiet Night Thoughts (静夜思); Bring In the Wine (将进酒); Drinking Alone Under the Moon (月下独酌); Viewing the Waterfall at Mount Lu (望庐山瀑布); Leaving Baidi City at Dawn (早发白帝城); The Hard Road to Shu (蜀道难).
Names from this poem
More by Li Bai
- Quiet Night Thoughts静夜思
- Farewell to Meng Haoran at Yellow Crane Tower黄鹤楼送孟浩然之广陵
- Viewing the Waterfall at Mount Lu望庐山瀑布
- Drinking Alone Under the Moon月下独酌
- Midnight Song of Wu (Autumn)子夜吴歌
- Song of the Moon over Mount Emei峨眉山月歌
- Song of Qiupu (White Hair)秋浦歌
- Farewell to a Friend送友人