Welcome to the ninth lesson of this series of guides on traditional Chinese Poetry. Today, we are going to study the poem “Ascending the Stork Tower” written by 王之涣 Wang Zhihuan (688-742 CE) of the Tang Dynasty.

• Text and Background

白日依山尽，bái rì yī shān jìn ，
黄河入海流。huáng hé rù hǎi liú 。
欲穷千里目，yù qióng qiān lǐ mù ，
更上一层楼。gèng shàng yì céng lóu 。

Meaning for each character

white sun [cling on] mountain disappear
(Yellow River) into ocean flow
wish extreme thousand mile eye
further [climb up] one storey [of the tower]

[] indicates a Chinese character translated into two or more words in English
() indicates two or more Chinese characters forming a single phrase, and therefore translated together

A translation by Xu Yuanchong:

The sun along the mountain bows;
The Yellow River seawards flows.
If you’ll enjoy a grander sight,
You’d climb up to a greater height.

This short poem is the first classical poem studied by second-grade Chinese students. In the national textbook, it is grouped with some other poems and short articles under the same topic: introducing various well-renowned scenic spots all around China. However, what distinguishes this poem from the others is its deep reflections on life beyond simple environmental depictions.

The author of this poem wrote many a famous poem during his lifetime, but sadly only six of these have survived to this date. The tower our poet climbed, the Stork Tower, has also endured the wears and tears of time and to this day still stands proudly on the eastern bank of the Yellow River in Yongji, Shanxi Province.

• Senses and Imagery

Lines 1&2 – 白日依山尽 bái rì yī shān jìn 
黄河入海流 huáng hé rù hǎi liú 

Although this poem is related to and presumably written in the Stork Tower, as pointed out by the title, the tower is not really the main subject of the poem. Our poet is more interested in the outside world as observed from the tower.

He opens the poem with a sublime depiction of the vast mountain ranges, the slowly setting sun and the famous Yellow River, the mother river of the northern Chinese civilisation. With just ten characters, the poet captured a grandiose and vivid picture of the natural sceneries stretching from the western mountains to the eastern ocean. The smaller details like trees, birds, or even people, do not bother him. He has his sight firmly set upon only the sublime beauty of mother nature.

Lines 3&4 – 欲穷千里目 yù qióng qiān lǐ mù
更上一层楼 gèng shàng yì céng lóu

In fact, our poet is so obsessed with this view that he just cannot have enough of it and wishes to see even more of this magnificent scenery. He wants to extend his eyesight to its extreme and see for himself what it is like hundreds and thousands of miles beyond.

Lucky for him, he just comes to know the exact way to achieve this craving for a grander sight. The poet teaches us his method in the last line: to have a greater view of the mountains and rivers, you just need to continue climbing upwards. 

So the poem ends, seemingly concluded with a piece of kind-hearted advice on how to seek the best spots for observing natural beauties. But travel advice is not all of the poem’s offerings. In Chinese poetry, the act of climbing, be it on a tower or a mountain, is often associated with one’s striving and social advancements in real life. This figurative meaning is also embraced by the last two lines of this poem, which are intended to teach people a lesson on not just sight-seeing but also achieving greatness and wisdom as an individual: in order to better enjoy your life, you have to first try and climb upwards in society, even if it means having to step on a couple of creaking wooden stairs.

What’s more – a third interpretation

Despite all these upbeat messages, a closer look at this poem actually offers a third way of interpreting it, one with a more depressing theme. Instead of one’s advancements in life and society, the poet may be talking about one’s progression to every life’s inevitable end – death.

This interpretation is supported by two images found in the first two lines, the setting sun and the eastward flowing river. The evening sun is usually seen as a symbol of old age, both of which have but a glimmer of shines left to it before the ensuing darkness. The river flowing eastward to the sea is also a metaphor for the flowing of time, both of which cannot be stopped or reversed. Under this light, the poet’s longing for a grander view of these objects can be seen as more of a hope to find out what lies beyond death. In order to do this, he first has to walk up the stairs of the tower, or more figuratively, take steps to mature and age as an individual. It is only when one has reached the top of the tower, or an elderly age in one’s life, that one can understand what it means to be consumed by time, like the evening sun and the eastbound river.

• Traditional Chinese Version

白日依山盡，bái rì yī shān jìn ，
黃河入海流。huáng hé rù hǎi liú 。
欲窮千里目，yù qióng qiān lǐ mù ，
更上一層樓。gèng shàng yì céng lóu 。