Climbing Stork Tower

 

登鹳雀楼
Dēng Guànquè Lóu
Climbing Stork Tower
…

白日依山尽
Bái rì yī shān jǐn
The sun shines to the distant mountains
.
黄河入海流
Huánghé rù hǎiliú
The Yellow River flows to the sea
.
欲穷千里目
Yù qióng qiānlǐ mù
Those who wants to see the furthest,
.
更上一层楼
Gèng shàng yī céng lóu
Must climb another floor.

Wang Zhihuan (王之渙, 688-742)

Climbing Stork Tower, a four line poem by the Chinese poet, Wang Zhihuan — quintessentially Confucian advice on how to get ahead — study, study, study. Like the joke on how to get to Carnegie Hall, practice, practice, practice.

Confucius said, “Study and practice, makes doing it a pleasure!”
學而時習之，不亦說乎
Xué ér shí xí zhī, bù yì shuō hū!

Confucius, Analects, verse one

Notes on Translation

This poem is sometimes titled Ascending Stork Tower.

Guànquè, stork. The Stork Tower in Puzhou is a famous tower that overlooks the Yellow River. Chinese poets often referred to themselves as birds flying over the land. Moreover, cranes and storks often symbolized peace and harmony and wisdom.

The character 登 deng has multiple meanings including to go, rise, climb and ascend. The pictogram reflects a base, a raised object, left and right feet, rising lines coming together, not touching.

Bai ri 白日 “white” and “sun.” During the day, daytime. Shan 山, mountain. Jin 尽, furthest, end, distant. The idea is that the sunlight reaches the most distant mountains. The light of day (a metaphor for knowledge) reaches every child.

Huanghe 黄河, the Yellow River, the source of Chinese civilization and a symbol of China itself.

The last two lines convey the Confucian value of studying harder to advance in life.

Try Harder

Try harder, this is a teacher’s advice, and the point of Wang’s poem. Only six of Wang’s poems survive today, two are part of the 300 Tang Poems, including “Climbing Stork Tower”.

Translation

There are many variations of the poem, and one can substitute climbing for ascending if one wishes. I also like this visual image: “In the mountain’s distance mountains, the bright sun sinks, To the sea the Yellow River flows, If you wish to see a thousand miles, You should climb another floor.”

The poem’s third line is idiomatic. One could also say kick it up a notch. Or, try harder! A literal translation goes like this:

欲窮千里目，
yù qióng qiānlǐ mù,
[wanting] [furthest] [thousand] [mile] [eye]
If you want to see a thousand miles

Another version goes like this:

The sun in the distant mountains glows
The Yellow River seawards ever flows
You will find a grander sight
By climbing to a greater height

About Wang Zhihuan

Wang Zhihuan was born in Shanxi province where the Stork Tower is located. Read more…

Rhyme

Much of the rhyme, both internal and end, is lost in translation.

The second line is particular beautiful. The combination of the Yellow River (黄河, Huánghé) and the Ocean Current (海流, hǎiliú) is more suggestive than my simple use of “the sea”.

Stork Tower

The Stork Tower in Puzhou Town, Yongji, Shanxi, Wang’s home province.

In China, the stork (鹳, include the heron and crane) is a symbol of longevity because it lives a long life, and its white feathers represent old age. In the Chinese imperial hierarchy, the stork is “a bird of the first rank.” Flying cranes symbolize one’s hope for a higher position.

There is a useful idiom that explains the significance of the stork.

鹤立鸡群
Hè lì jī qún
A crane standing amid a flock of chickens
Being conspicuously different, Standing head and shoulders above others.

Alas, the Stork Tower was ravaged by the flooding Yellow River, but it has been rebuilt.