Book of Songs
Yan Yan
Anonymous
燕燕于飞
差池其羽
之子于归
远送于野
瞻望弗及
泣涕如雨
燕燕于飞
颉之颃之
之子于归
远于将之
瞻望弗及
伫立以泣
燕燕于飞
下上其音
之子于归
远送于南
瞻望弗及
实劳我心
仲氏任只
其心塞渊
终温且惠
淑慎其身
先君之思
以勖寡人
Translation
The swallows fly, their wings unevenly spread. This young woman goes to her marriage; I send her far into the open fields. I gaze after her, but can no longer reach her. My tears fall like rain. The swallows fly, rising and dipping in the air. This young woman goes to her marriage; I escort her far away. I gaze after her, but can no longer reach her. I stand still and weep. The swallows fly, their voices rising and falling. This young woman goes to her marriage; I send her far toward the south. I gaze after her, but can no longer reach her. Truly, it wears out my heart. The second lady was trustworthy; her heart was full and deep. Always gentle and kind, good and careful in her conduct. She remembered the former lord, and with that she encouraged me, the lonely one.
Analysis
"Yan Yan" is one of the most famous farewell poems in the Book of Songs. It describes the parting from a woman who is leaving in marriage. The speaker follows her far, watches until she can no longer be seen, and is overcome by grief. The first three stanzas all begin with flying swallows. Swallows usually suggest pairing, movement, and seasonal return. Here, however, their flight intensifies the pain of human separation. The birds can fly together and move freely; the person who sends another away must remain behind. Each stanza changes the swallow image slightly. First we see their uneven wings, then their rising and falling flight, then their high and low calls. The poem moves from sight to motion to sound. This makes the farewell scene feel open, airy, and painfully alive. "This young woman goes to her marriage" is the human center of the poem. In the Book of Songs, this phrase indicates a woman marrying into another household. Marriage here is not only celebration; it is also separation. Someone beloved leaves one social world for another. The speaker sends her far: into the fields, along the road, toward the south. This repeated "far sending" matters. It shows reluctance to part. The farewell is extended until it can go no further. "I gaze after her, but can no longer reach her" is the emotional climax of each of the first three stanzas. The body remains, the eyes keep following, but the person is gone. The results are tears like rain, standing still and weeping, and finally a heart worn out by grief. The final stanza shifts from the scene of farewell to the character of the woman being sent away. She is described as trustworthy, deep-hearted, gentle, kind, good, and careful. The poem tells us why the separation hurts so much: the one departing is not merely close, but morally admirable. "She remembered the former lord, and with that she encouraged me" suggests that she preserved loyalty, memory, and moral strength. The speaker loses not only a companion, but someone who offered ethical support and emotional steadiness. "Yan Yan" is important because it already contains the essential structure of later Chinese farewell poetry: accompanying someone far, watching until sight fails, tears, standing still, and the pain of distance. But it also adds moral memory. The sorrow is deep because the departing person was deeply worthy.
About the Author
Anonymous, a poet from the pre-Qin period whose name is unknown. The Book of Songs (Shijing) is the earliest anthology of Chinese poetry, containing more than three hundred poems from roughly the early Western Zhou to the mid-Spring and Autumn period, divided into three sections: Airs (Feng), Elegantiae (Ya), and Hymns (Song). "Bei Feng" preserves songs from the Bei and Wei regions, many of which reflect politics, marriage, family conflict, social pressure, and deep emotional distress.