Seeing Off Wang Changling cover

Seeing Off Wang Changling

Rating 4.3
Word count
4.6K words
Chapters
49

Tags

Summary

"Farewell to Wang Changling" was written by the Tang dynasty poet Li Bai.

Editor's review

Li Bai's farewell poems are less notable for lingering sentiment than for grandeur and genuine feeling. "Farewell to Wang Changling" is brief, yet it places concern for a friend in a spacious context, so that it conveys both the sorrow of parting and Li Bai's characteristic buoyancy. Wang Changling was a major poet of Li Bai's era, and the friendship between the two is often mentioned in literary history; this poem offers a concrete and intimate sample for understanding exchanges among High Tang poets. This edition, printed by Shanghai Jinzhang Book Company, is suitable as material for close reading of a single poem. While reading, note the rhythm of emotional progression and how Li Bai moves from narrative to lyric expression within a very short space. For readers familiar with Li Bai's famous works, such small farewell poems reveal a plainer side of the great poet in handling everyday friendship and make it easy to compare with Wang Changling's own works, sensing the High Tang ethos of poets esteeming one another and bonding through poetry.

Who it's for

A good fit for

  • Readers who love Li Bai and want to read all his farewell works
  • Those interested in High Tang poets' social circles and literary-historical background
  • Teachers needing short classical poems as material for classes or reading groups

Not a good fit for

  • Readers seeking Li Bai's representative works and best-known selections
  • Researchers needing detailed composition background and dating evidence
  • Readers with limited interest in short poems who prefer long works

Reading tips

  1. First learn about Wang Changling and his poetry, then read this poem; the stature of the person Li Bai farewells becomes clearer.
  2. Read it alongside other Li Bai farewell poems such as "Seeing Meng Haoran Off at Yellow Crane Tower" to compare similarities and differences in emotional expression.
  3. Read the whole poem aloud two or three times, noting the shifts in tone between lines and experiencing the rhythm of a short piece.

About the publisher

Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) China · Founded in 1901

Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) was a private publishing and distribution house in Shanghai during the late Qing and early Republican periods, issuing traditional works by lithographic printing. Judging from the 1,194 titles in the collection, its publishing focused on classical poetry, Eastern philosophy, historical reading, traditional Chinese medical texts, and canonical works, along with books on literary appreciation. Representative titles include the poetry and prose collections of Du Fu and Ouyang Xiu; historical works such as the Book of Han and Zizhi Tongjian; classical texts such as the Book of Documents and Mencius; and specialized and literary classics such as Treatise on Cold Damage and Li Sao. Its author resources cover major figures across the ages, including Du Fu, Ban Gu, Sima Guang, Zhang Zhongjing, Qu Yuan, Ouyang Xiu, and Tang Shenwei, reflecting the house's characteristic reliance on traditional scholarship and medical literature while serving general readers. Public information on its early history and operational details is limited, so no conjecture is offered here.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 【陆浑水亭】祖咏
  3. 【过郑曲】祖咏
  4. 【宿陈留李少府揆厅】祖咏
  5. 【题韩少府水亭】祖咏
  6. 【题远公经台】祖咏
  7. 【中峰居喜见苗发(一作李端诗)】祖咏
  8. 【江南旅情】祖咏
  9. 【泊扬子津】祖咏
  10. 【晚泊金陵水亭】祖咏
  11. 【七夕】祖咏
  12. 【望蓟门】祖咏
  13. 【家园夜坐寄郭微】祖咏
  14. 【酬汴州李别驾赠】祖咏
  15. 【清明宴司勋刘郎中别业】祖咏
  16. 【汝坟秋同仙州王长史翰闻百舌鸟】祖咏
  17. 【送丘为下第】祖咏
  18. 【赠苗发员外】祖咏
  19. 【寄王长史】祖咏
  20. 【别怨】祖咏
  21. 【终南望馀雪】祖咏
  22. 【句】祖咏
  23. 卷一百三十二
  24. 【湘夫人】李颀
  25. 【塞下曲】李颀
  26. 【古塞下曲】李颀
  27. 【渔父歌】李颀
  28. 【东京寄万楚】李颀
  29. 【寄焦炼师】李颀
  30. 【望鸣皋山白云寄洛阳卢主簿】李颀
  31. 【寄万齐融】李颀
  32. 【赠张旭】李颀
  33. 【赠苏明府】李颀
  34. 【登首阳山谒夷齐庙】李颀
  35. 【谒张果先生】李颀
  36. 【光上座廊下众山五韵】李颀
  37. 【九月九日刘十八东堂集】李颀
  38. 【宋少府东溪泛舟】李颀
  39. 【与诸公游济渎泛舟】李颀
  40. 【送綦毋三谒房给事】李颀
  41. 【送刘四】李颀
  42. 【送裴腾】李颀
  43. 【送司农崔丞】李颀
  44. 【送崔侍御赴京】李颀
  45. 【春送从叔游襄阳】李颀
  46. 【赠别高三十五】李颀
  47. 【崔五宅送刘跂入京】李颀
  48. 【送马录事赴永阳(一作嘉)】李颀
  49. 【临别送张諲入蜀】李颀

FAQ

Is this poem one of Li Bai's famous works, and is it worth reading on its own?
It is not among Li Bai's most widely recited works, but as a poem farewell to Wang Changling it has dual value: as material for literary-social history and for poetic appreciation. Read alone it is short; paired with Wang Changling's related works and the High Tang background, the gains will be more evident.
What should I know about Wang Changling before reading?
It is enough to know that Wang Changling was a famous High Tang poet, skilled in the seven-character quatrain, roughly contemporary with Li Bai. Further knowledge of his official career's ups and downs and his frontier poetry makes it easier to feel the emotional weight of Li Bai's farewell, but deep research is not required beforehand.
Is this poem suitable for classroom or reading-group use?
Yes. It is short with a clear emotional thread, making close reading and discussion feasible within limited time. Discussion can center on three topics: the tradition of farewell poetry, the poets' friendship, and lyrical technique in short pieces; pairing it with one or two comparison works yields better results.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Li Bai Author · China

Li Bai, the leading figure of Tang-dynasty Romantic poetry, styled Taibai and known as the Green Lotus Lay Buddhist, was later honored as the "Poet Immortal." His ancestral home was Chengji in Longxi, and he lived in Shu as a youth before leaving at twenty-five to travel widely. In the early Tianbao era he was summoned to the capital as a Hanlin Attendant and later sent away with a gift of gold. During the An Lushan Rebellion he was implicated for joining the staff of Prince Li Lin of Yong, sentenced to exile in Yelang, and pardoned en route; in his later years he drifted through the southeast and died in Dangtu in the first year of Baoying. This library holds thirty-nine of his works, including the "Hard Is the Road" series and the two-volume complete works. His poetry is bold, free, and extraordinarily imaginative, often voicing the hardships of travel and reflections on life. He is paired with Du Fu as "Li and Du," and his collection has come down to us as the Li Taibai Collection.

More by the same author

Top rated in the same category