250. Seeing Xin Jian Off at Hibiscus Tower | Wang Changling
Text
English translation
Original Chinese text
寒雨连江夜入吴，平明送客楚山孤。
English translation
Cold rain stretches across the river as we enter Wu by night. At daybreak, seeing my guest away, I face the solitary mountains of Chu.
Daybreak is the first light of morning. The lonely mountains are part of the view, but they also cast solitude back upon the person who remains. Night rain, river, and dawn make the farewell feel prolonged and cold.
Original Chinese text
洛阳亲友如相问，一片冰心在玉壶。
English translation
If friends and family in Luoyang ask about me, tell them that a heart of ice remains pure within a vessel of jade.
The images of ice and jade express transparent integrity and self-command. What the poet asks Xin Jian to carry home is not ordinary news but an account of character: whatever others may say, he has kept himself unstained.
赏析 · Commentary
送别诗为什么落在自白上 · Why the Farewell Ends in Self-Declaration
前两句写雨夜和清晨，后两句忽然转向洛阳亲友。辛渐即将北归，正好可以替诗人传话。临别最想说明的，是自己仍然清白自持。这样写并没有离开送别场景：只有可信的友人远行，这句话才有了明确的收信人。
The first half gives rain, night, and dawn; the second suddenly turns toward friends in Luoyang. Xin Jian is about to travel north and can carry the message. What matters most at parting is the assurance that the poet has preserved his integrity. This does not abandon the farewell scene: only because a trusted friend is leaving does the declaration acquire a clear audience.
“一片”怎样收住全诗 · How One Pure Heart Closes the Poem
“一片”把抽象的心写得像一块清澈可见的冰，“玉壶”又给它一个洁净、坚固的容器。前面的寒雨并没有侵入这里。结句不争辩具体的是非，只交代诗人希望亲友相信什么。语气越平静，越显出这份自我说明经过了压力。
The phrase one heart gives an abstract inner state the clarity of a visible piece of ice, while the jade vessel provides a clean and durable enclosure. The cold rain of the opening has not entered it. The close argues no particular charge; it states only what the poet wants his friends to believe. Its composure suggests the pressure under which such an assurance became necessary.