Mandarin Chinese - Chinese Poetry - 登鹳雀楼 On The Stork Tower

Chinese Poetry - 登鹳雀楼 On The Stork Tower


On The Stork Tower was composed by Wang Zhihuan (王之涣) to describe what the poet sees and feels about when he ascends the Stork Tower.

In the first two lines, he shifts his eyes from the sunset beyond the mountains to the Yellow River, which flows out of sight eastwards towards the sea. Then, he writes the famous lines “欲穷千里目，更上一层楼。(To see a thousand mile view, go up another floor.)” which blends landscape, emotion and philosophical thinking in the short verse. The last line, “更上一层楼”, is now a general idiom for taking things up a level, a bit like the colloquial “Cheer Up!” or “Add Oil!”.


登鹳雀楼 On The Stork Tower

白日依山尽，
bái rì yī shān jǐn,
The white sun sets behind the mountains,

黄河入海流。
huáng hé rù hǎi liú。
and the Yellow River flows into the sea.

欲穷千里目，
yù qióng qiān lǐ mù，
To see a thousand mile view,

更上一层楼。
gèng shàng yì céng lóu。
go up another floor.


-----------------------------

Notes: To help better understand the poem, here to supplement and explain some key vocabularies:
“鹳雀楼 (guàn què lóu)” is a tower in Shanxi province, with three floors, situated between mountains and the Yellow River.
“穷 (qióng)” in the third line refers to “尽 (jǐn) ” which means “furthest”.