Evening Journey at Maping

王勃Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) · ChinaJun 2024

4.1

Word count: 4.3K words
Chapters: 50

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Summary

One of the works by Wang Bo, a literary figure of the Tang Dynasty.

Editor's review

"Evening Journey at Maping" is a poem by the Tang Dynasty literary figure Wang Bo. Short in length yet clear and far-reaching in mood, it records what he saw and felt while traveling at dusk, offering a concrete glimpse into Wang Bo's poetry. This edition, printed by Shanghai Jinzhang Book Company, presents the piece on its own so readers can focus on a close reading. Wang Bo is known for "Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng," and his poems likewise attend to parallelism and pictorial imagery; this evening-journey piece gathers the dusk, the road, and the traveler's feelings into a few lines, rewarding repeated savoring. For readers, its value lies in what a short piece can do: without reading the complete works, one can still sense the verbal texture of early Tang poetry and a typical approach to the travel theme. While reading, note how the passage of time and shifts of space work together, and what feelings of travel lie behind the landscape description. It suits classical poetry enthusiasts for casual browsing, serves as a short model for poetry-appreciation writing, or can be read alongside other works by Wang Bo to sense the common ground of his poetry and prose.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Classical poetry enthusiasts who want a close reading of a single poem by Wang Bo
Beginners to early Tang poetry who need a short piece to build reading confidence
Primary and secondary school language teachers looking for a short travel poem as a classroom example
Light readers who like to browse and read one short poem at a time

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking a systematic understanding of Wang Bo's life and complete works
Beginners who need detailed annotations, vernacular translation, and background research
Those who prefer long narrative or modern subjects and have limited interest in classical poetry

Reading tips

Read it through once without any commentary, noting the images and time cues you notice.
Then go line by line through the scenery and travel actions, sensing how the short piece is layered.
Read it alongside other poems by Wang Bo or early Tang travel poems, comparing similarities and differences in technique.
After reading, try retelling the poem's meaning in your own words to check whether you have truly understood it.

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.

版权信息
【幸梨园亭观打球应制（一作梨园亭子侍宴应制）】崔湜
【慈恩寺九日应制】崔湜
【折杨柳】崔湜
【边愁】崔湜
【婕妤怨】崔湜
【酬杜麟台春思】崔湜
【寄天台司马先生】崔湜
【唐都尉山池】崔湜
【江楼夕望】崔湜
【襄城即事（一作江楼有怀）】崔湜
【秦州薛都督挽词】崔湜
【奉和春日幸望春宫（一作立春内出彩花应制）】崔湜
【奉和幸韦嗣立山庄侍宴应制】崔湜
【同李员外春闺】崔湜
【襄阳早秋寄岑侍郎】崔湜
【赠苏少府赴任江南余时还京】崔湜
【登总持寺阁】崔湜
【早春边城怀归】崔湜
【至桃林塞作】崔湜
【襄阳作】崔湜
【喜入长安】崔湜
【奉和幸韦嗣立山庄应制】崔湜
【踏歌词二首】崔液
【代春闺】崔液
【上元夜六首（一作夜游诗）】崔液
【冀北春望（一作崔湜诗）】崔液
【拟古神女宛转歌二首（一作郎大家诗）】崔液
【望韩公堆】崔涤
卷五十五
【倬彼我系】王勃
【上巳浮江宴韵得址字】王勃
【春日宴乐游园赋韵得接字】王勃
【山亭夜宴】王勃
【咏风】王勃
【怀仙】王勃
【忽梦游仙】王勃
【杂曲】王勃
【秋夜长】王勃
【采莲曲（乐府作采莲归）】王勃
【临高台】王勃
【滕王阁】王勃
【江南弄】王勃
卷五十六
【圣泉宴】王勃
【寻道观】王勃
【散关晨度】王勃
【别薛华】王勃
【重别薛华】王勃
【游梵宇三觉寺】王勃

FAQ

Can reading only this poem tell me about Wang Bo's poetic style?

It offers a glimpse, but one should not generalize from it alone. This evening-journey poem shows his attention to imagery and parallelism and his skill at gathering emotion into a short piece; it is a concrete entry point into his poetry. To grasp Wang Bo's style more fully, read several of his representative works alongside this one, so you can see which techniques are habitual and which are unique to this poem.

Is "Evening Journey at Maping" suitable for beginners to read in the original?

Its short length makes it suitable for beginners to try, but the wording and place-name background may still require annotations. It is best to read the original first for its rhythm, then use a reliable annotated edition to resolve difficult words and writing background, and finally reread it. This preserves the freshness of a first reading while avoiding giving up on the whole poem over a few unfamiliar words.

What should I focus on when reading this short poem?

Three things: first, how time advances from evening onward in the poem; second, how the poet's position and field of vision change in space; third, the travel emotions revealed behind the landscape description. A short piece has limited room, so each line often serves both scenery and feeling; noticing how these lines connect will let you appreciate its art better than a word-for-word translation.

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About the author

王勃 Author

Wang Bo was a Tang dynasty poet, known together with Yang Jiong, Lu Zhaolin and Luo Binwang as one of the "Four Talents of the Early Tang." He holds an important place in the shift of Chinese poetry from the ornate style of the Six Dynasties toward the grand manner of the High Tang. This site contains five of his works, including The Complete Poems of Wang Bo and The Poetry Collection of Wang Bo, as well as pieces such as "Evening Journey at Maping" and "Harmonized Song Lyrics: Bronze Sparrow Terrace." His works are commonly classified under ancient poetry and literary appreciation. Because public information is limited, details of his life, birth and death dates, and nationality are not recorded here and are not conjectured. Judging from the surviving pieces, his writing combines travel scenery with imitations of yuefu, using concise language and genuine feeling to create expansive imagery in short works. His writing inherits earlier poetic traditions while revealing the new aesthetic pursuits of Early Tang literati, offering inspiration for the later development of Tang poetry and deserving close reading alongside anthologies and appreciation materials.