To Danqui

A Poem to Yuan Danqui

Like Mona Lisa, whose face was made immortal by Leonardo da Vinci, Yuan Danqui, even though little is known about him, achieves immortality in the verse of the Chinese poet Li Bai (李白, 701–762)

元 丹 丘 歌
Yuán Dānqiū Gē
A Poem to Yuan Danqui

元 丹 丘，爱 神 仙。
Yuán Dānqiū, ài shénxiān,
Yuan Danqiu lives like the immortals,

朝 饮 颍 川 之 清 落

Cháo yǐn yǐng chuān zhī qīng luò
In the morning drinks clear water from a stream,

暮 还 嵩 岑 之 紫 烟
Mù hái sōng cén zhī zǐ yān
In the evening returns to purple haze of Mt. Song,

三 十 六 峰 常 周 旋
Sānshíliù fēng cháng zhōuxuán
There thirty six peaks gather round.

长 周 旋，蹑 星 虹
Zhǎng zhōuxuán, niè xīng hóng
In a widening circle, watching the Milky Way

身 骑 飞 龙 耳 生风
Shēn qí fēilóng ěr shēng fēng.
He flies on a flying dragon with wind blowing from its ears

​

横 河 跨 海 与 天 通
Héng hé kuà hǎi yǔ tiān tōng
Crossing the river and ocean touching the heavens,

我 知 尔 游 心 天 穷
Wǒ zhī ěr yóu xīntiān qióng
Your wandering mind boundless.

Li Bai

Notes on Translation

Li Bai — In 724, the twenty-three-year-old poet Li Bai sailed away on a boat from his home in Shu, today’s Sichuan province, wandering far and wide. By 742, the now 41 year old poet made his way to Luoyang, the eastern capital of the Tang dynasty. Nearby Mt Song (Songshan), the home to an ancient Taoist temple gives an indication that this poem was composed then.

Fame is fleeting we all know, and Li Bai left Chang’an in disgrace (too much drink, a little late, a poetic snub would not go too well).

Yuan Danqiu — Yuan Danqiu might have been a Taoist priest or abbot at Zhongyue Temple on Mt. Song. Some sources (Project Muse) state that Yuan Danqiu 元丹丘 was a youthful friend of Li Bai’s from Shu, and the two met on several occasions throughout their lives.

Shenxian, in Taoism, an Immortal, a kind of god with magical powers.

Song Cen, Mount Song, in Chinese mythology, is thought to be the well spring of the Heaven and Earth. It is located in a mountain range in Henan Province, consisting of 36 peaks (the similarly sounding Fuqiu Peak is one of the 36 peaks). It is the central mountain of the Five Holy Mountains of China. Mt Song is home to several temples including a Taoist temple, Zhongyue and a Buddhist one Shaoling. There is a waterfall nearby with its clear water (Songshan Luya Waterfall).

Xing Hong, the literal meaning of hong is “rainbow,” but the literary meaning is “bridge,” which explains my interpretation of Xinghong as starry bridge or “Milky Way.”

Feilong, In “Yijing,” (Book of Changes), “feilong” symbolizes a daren 大人 (great person). Dragons were though to control the wind and rain.

My translation differs distinctly from Arthur Waley’s and less so from the translation by LAC Poetry.

我 知 尔 游 心 天 穷
Wǒ zhī ěr yóuxīntiān qióng
Your wandering mind boundless