Early Departure on Mount Shang [Tang Poems]

— Wen Tingyun

At dawn I rise, with ringing bells my cab goes,

But grieved in thoughts of my home, I feel lost.

As the moon sets over thatched inn, the cock crows;

Footprints are left on wood bridge paved with frost.

The mountain path is covered with oak leaves,

The post-house bright with blooming orange trees.

The dream of my homeland last night still grieves,

A pool of mallards playing with wild geese.

Note

Wen Tingyun (c. 812–870) was a major poet and lyricist of the late Tang Dynasty, renowned as a pioneer of the ci (song lyric) form and a master of ornate, sensuous imagery. Though he struggled with official examinations and lived a somewhat bohemian life, his poetry – especially his regulated verse – often reveals deep empathy for travellers, officials, and ordinary people facing hardship and separation.

One of his most admired poems is “Early Travel Beyond Mount Shang” (Early Departure on Mount Shang or Shang Shan Zao Xing). Written during his own journey through the remote Shang Mountains in present-day Shaanxi province, the poem captures the chill and solitude of dawn travel. The traveler rises before sunrise; frost covers the wooden bridge, and his footprints are the first on the trail. He sees moonlit roosters crowing by thatched inns and glimpses human figures silhouetted against dawn-lit mulberry trees. The final couplet reveals his homesickness: in a dream, he’s back in his hometown of Du Ling, watching wild geese fly over a spring pond – a stark contrast to his current cold, lonely road.

“Early Travel Beyond Mount Shang” is celebrated for its vivid sensory details, emotional restraint, and the poignant contrast between dream and reality. It exemplifies the classic Chinese theme of the weary traveler longing for home.

商山早行
— 温庭筠

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。