Sending Off Li to Zizhou
送 梓 州 李 使 君
万 壑 树 参 天
千 山 响 杜 鹃。
山 中 一 半 雨
树 杪 百 重 泉。
汉 女 输 橦 布
巴 人 讼 芋 田。
文 翁 翻 教 授
敢 不 倚 先 贤。
Song Zi Zhou Li Shi Jun
Wan he shu can tian
Qian shan xiang du juan.
Shan zhong yi ban yu
Shu miao bai chong quan.
Han nu shu tong bu
Ba ren song yu tian.
Wen weng fan jiao shou
Gan bu yi xian xian.
Sending Off Li to Zizhou
Ten thousand valley trees reaching to the sky
One thousand mountains echo the cuckoo birds.
In the mountains it rains for a long time
Tips of tree branches, numerous sources of water.
Women here make tong cloth to pay taxes to the Han government
Ba people feud and sue each other over the few taro fields
Wen Wong went back to teach the people
I am sure you will follow the example of the able and virtuous before us.
Notes:
Cuckoo birds: Ancient Chinese believed cuckoos say “ Better go home.” to those who are wanderers.
Tong cloth: A tree native to Sichuan Province. The flowers are used to make cloth.
Ba: Sichuan Province ethnic minority mountain people.
Wen Wong: Governor of Shu, an ancient kingdom located in present day Sichuan Province around 143 BC. He put much effort and money towards improving the education of the people
