Farewell to Du Fu at Stone Gate [Tang Poems]

— Li Bai

Before we part we’ve drunk for many days

And visited all the scenic spots and ways.

When at the Stone Gate shall we meet and drain

Our brimming golden cups of wine again?

The autumn waves of River Si still flow;

The seaside mountains stand in morning glow.

You’ll go away as thistledown will fly.

So let us fill our cups and drink them dry.

Note

Li Bai (701–762 CE) was the most iconic romantic poet of China’s Tang Dynasty – renowned for his exuberant spirit, love of wine, deep friendships, and poetic visions that blend earthly emotion with cosmic freedom. His farewell poems often mix joy, melancholy, and philosophical acceptance of life’s impermanence.

His poem “Farewell to Du Fu at Shimen Gate, East of Lujun” captures a bittersweet parting between Li Bai and his close friend Du Fu, one of China’s other greatest poets. The two traveled and drank together in 745 CE during a brief but legendary period of companionship.

The poem opens with wistful immediacy: “We’ve been drunk at our farewells – how many days ago?” They’ve wandered every pavilion and garden together, savoring their time. Now, facing separation, Li Bai wonders aloud:”When will we walk the Shimen road again / and raise golden cups once more?”

He paints the autumn landscape vividly: ripples on the Si River, the distant glow of Mount Culei – clear, luminous, yet tinged with distance. Then comes the poignant metaphor:”Like tumbleweeds blown apart by the wind, / we drift far in different directions.”

Yet instead of despair, Li Bai chooses celebration:”For now, let’s drain the wine in our hands!” – a classic Daoist embrace of the present moment amid life’s uncertainties.

鲁郡东石门送杜二甫
— 李白

醉别复几日，

登临遍池台。

何时石门路，

重有金樽开。

秋波落泗水，

海色明徂徕。

飞蓬各自远，

且尽手中杯。