Ascending the Tower in Liuzhou, Addressing the Four Prefectures of Zhang, Ting, Feng, and Lian - Liu Zongyuan
/登柳州城楼寄漳汀封连四州 - 柳宗元/
A Tower’s High View Linking Four Distant Prefectures
城上高楼接大荒
On the city tower, one meets the vast wilderness beyond
海天愁思正茫茫
Sea and sky stretch in endless gloom, stirring boundless sorrow
惊风乱飐芙蓉水
The fierce wind ruffles the waters where lotus blossoms float
密雨斜侵薜荔墙
Dense rains slant in against the walls draped in creeping vines
岭树重遮千里目
Mountain trees layer upon layer, blocking one’s sight for a thousand miles
江流曲似九回肠
The winding river meanders like nine twists of a sorrowful heart
共来百越文身地
Together we have come to the tattooed lands of the Hundred Yue
犹自音书滞一乡
Yet still, our letters remain stranded in one distant place
In this eight-line poem, Liu Zongyuan captures both the physical and emotional isolation of exile. Standing atop the city tower in Liuzhou, he faces a world of imposing natural forces—boundless skies, sudden gusts of wind, and slanting sheets of rain. These environmental images parallel his own sense of distance, both literal and figurative, from friends, fellow officials, and the capital he once knew.
The poem’s opening couplet sets the stage: a lofty vantage gazing out over a wilderness so immense that the boundary between land and sea, heaven and earth, seems blurred by worry and longing. The middle lines deepen the scene’s turmoil: wind agitates lotus-filled waters, while rain besieges walls draped with vines. These elements highlight a restless, dynamic landscape, echoing the poet’s inner disquiet.
The final couplets introduce the concept of “百越” (the lands of the Hundred Yue), which historically encompassed a broad swath of southern territories. By referencing Zhang, Ting, Feng, and Lian—four prefectures in the south—Liu Zongyuan unites geographic distance with cultural remoteness. He and his associates, far removed from courtly life, find themselves in a region traditionally viewed as remote and somewhat alien by northern standards.
Throughout the poem, Liu Zongyuan hints at the challenges of maintaining communication—“letters remain stranded in one distant place”—a plaintive nod to the reality that administrative exiles often faced lengthy separations from their networks. The poet’s carefully drawn natural images serve not only to heighten the sense of solitude but also to underscore resilience in facing a world that can feel both impossibly large and intimately constricting. By using plain yet evocative language, he invites us to consider the emotional implications of forced displacement, the ache of severed ties, and the abiding hope that words, even if delayed, might one day bridge the gap between those cast far from home.
Key points
1. The poem melds vivid natural imagery with a personal sense of exile.
2. Vast distances—literal and emotional—shape Liu Zongyuan’s reflections on duty and isolation.
3. The winding river and layered mountains evoke the poet’s inner turbulence and longing.
4. Despite geographic remoteness, the poem suggests a hope that correspondence and connection can endure.