Tang Dynasty
Early Departure from Shangshan
Wen Tingyun
晨起动征铎，客行悲故乡。
鸡声茅店月，人迹板桥霜。
槲叶落山路，枳花明驿墙。
因思杜陵梦，凫雁满回塘。
Translation
At dawn I rise; the travel bells begin to ring. A traveler on the road grieves for his old home. Roosters call; the moon still hangs above the thatched inn. Footprints mark the frosted plank bridge. Oak leaves have fallen over the mountain road. Trifoliate orange blossoms brighten the wall of the post station. Because of this, I think of my dream of Duling: wild ducks and geese filled the winding pond.
Analysis
"Early Departure from Shangshan" is one of Wen Tingyun's finest travel poems. It describes a traveler leaving an inn before dawn. The poem does not directly complain about hardship; instead, it lets a few precise images create the feeling of coldness, distance, and homesickness. The opening couplet gives the situation. The traveler rises early, and the bells on the traveling carriage or horse begin to sound. The journey resumes before the day has fully begun. The second line states the emotional core: traveling as a guest away from home brings sorrow for the homeland. The second couplet is the poem's masterpiece: "rooster sound, thatched inn, moon; footprints, plank bridge, frost." The line is built almost entirely from nouns. There is no need for explanation. Roosters have begun to crow, the moon has not yet set, the inn is simple, the bridge is covered with frost, and footprints show that travelers are already on the road. This couplet works like a compact visual and acoustic composition. It includes sound, light, cold, place, and human trace. The whole early-morning journey is captured in twelve characters. The third couplet continues with roadside scenery. Oak leaves fall along the mountain path, while white trifoliate orange blossoms brighten the wall of the post station. The mood is still lonely and cold, but the blossoms add a small point of brightness. The final couplet turns inward. The traveler remembers a dream of Duling, a place near Chang'an associated with home, old life, and longing. In the dream, wild ducks and geese fill a winding pond. This warm, living image contrasts with the cold reality of frost, bridge, and mountain road. The farther the traveler goes, the more vivid the dream of home becomes. The poem's achievement lies in its compression. It turns a brief moment of departure into a complete emotional world. Its famous couplet remains one of the most precise descriptions of early travel in Chinese poetry.
About the Author
Wen Tingyun, courtesy name Feiqing, was a late Tang poet and lyricist from Qi in Taiyuan. Known for his quick talent and mastery of musical patterns, he achieved distinction in both shi poetry and ci lyrics. He is especially important in the history of ci and is often regarded as a major precursor of the Huajian, or "Among the Flowers," lyric tradition. His writing is known for refined diction, dense imagery, and delicate emotional atmosphere. "Early Departure from Shangshan" is one of his most celebrated poems, admired for its compressed imagery and its powerful expression of travel loneliness and homesickness.