Tang Dynasty
芙蓉楼送辛渐
王昌龄
寒雨连江夜入吴，
平明送客楚山孤。
洛阳亲友如相问，
一片冰心在玉壶。
Translation
Cold rain joins the river as night enters the land of Wu; at dawn I see my guest off, with the Chu mountains standing lonely in the distance. If my friends and kin in Luoyang ask about me, tell them: my heart is a piece of ice held within a jade vessel.
Analysis
“Seeing Off Xin Jian at Hibiscus Tower” is both a farewell poem and a declaration of moral integrity. The opening scene is cold and expansive: rain, river, night, the land of Wu, and lonely Chu mountains. These images create a world of purity, distance, and isolation. In the final couplet, the poem turns from landscape to self-revelation. The famous image “a piece of ice in a jade vessel” is not merely decorative; it expresses a heart that remains clear, pure, and unstained. The poet does not defend himself through argument. Instead, he entrusts his friend with an image. The poem’s power lies in this fusion of farewell, solitude, and moral clarity.
About the Author
Wang Changling was one of the finest masters of the seven-character quatrain in the High Tang. His poems often compress expansive scenes and intense emotion into a few lucid lines. He is famous for frontier poems, but his farewell poems and palace laments are equally distinguished. “Seeing Off Xin Jian at Hibiscus Tower” demonstrates his mature art: a cold, pure landscape leads to one unforgettable image of moral clarity, “a piece of ice in a jade vessel.”