Tang Dynasty
Setting Out Early from Baidi City
Li Bai
朝辞白帝彩云间，千里江陵一日还。
两岸猿声啼不住，轻舟已过万重山。
Translation
At dawn I leave Baidi, among clouds bright with color. A thousand li to Jiangling, yet I return within a single day. On both banks, the cries of gibbons go on without ceasing. But my light boat has already passed through ten thousand layers of mountains.
Analysis
'Setting Out Early from Baidi City' is one of Li Bai's most famous quatrains. On the surface, it describes a swift boat journey down the Yangtze from Baidi City to Jiangling. More deeply, it expresses the sudden lightness of being released from hardship. The poem is often associated with Li Bai's pardon during his exile toward Yelang. If read in that context, the 'light boat' is not only physically light; it also carries a newly lightened heart. The poet is moving with the current, away from danger and constraint. The first line opens high and bright: Baidi City appears among colored morning clouds. The departure feels almost celestial, as if the poet is leaving from the clouds themselves. This gives the poem a sense of radiance and release from the beginning. 'A thousand li to Jiangling, yet I return within a single day' exaggerates speed, but the exaggeration fits the power of the river current and the poet's exhilaration. The word 'return' also matters. It suggests not merely arrival, but a return from trouble toward freedom. The third line introduces the soundscape of the gorges: gibbons crying continuously from both banks. In much classical poetry, gibbon cries carry sadness and loneliness. Here, however, their cries do not weigh the poem down. They are overtaken by speed. The final line is the poem's climax. Before the cries have faded, the light boat has already passed through countless mountains. The 'ten thousand layers of mountains' suggest difficulty, obstruction, and confinement. The boat passing through them so easily becomes an image of liberation. The poem's greatness lies in momentum. Clouds, distance, gibbon cries, and mountains all become part of one swift movement. Few poems convey speed and emotional release with such direct force.
About the Author
Li Bai, courtesy name Taibai and literary name Qinglian Jushi, was one of the greatest poets of the Tang dynasty and is often called the 'Poet Immortal.' He spent much of his life traveling and became known for his bold imagination, natural fluency, romantic spirit, and love of freedom. His poetry ranges across landscape, Daoist transcendence, wine, friendship, history, frontier life, and personal aspiration. Representative works include 'Bring in the Wine,' 'The Road to Shu Is Hard,' 'Quiet Night Thoughts,' 'Setting Out Early from Baidi City,' and 'Viewing the Waterfall at Mount Lu.' This poem is a classic example of his ability to turn travel into a powerful image of spiritual freedom.