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Wang Wan (c. 690–740) was from Loyang and never held high office but was well known for his poetry even as a youth. Here, he stops for the night at a small peninsula that juts into the lower reaches of the Yangtze, where the Grand Canal intersects the river and where boats often moored before continuing north or south on the canal, east and out to sea, or west and up the Yangtze. Wang’s home was 800 kilometers to the north, and spring arrives much earlier here, reminding him how far away he is. During the Han dynasty, an emperor once shot a goose and found, tied to its foot, a letter written by an official being held against his will by the Huns. Wild geese have been used ever since as the mail carriers of the hopelessly separated. The fifth and sixth lines became so famous that Chang Yueh (667–731) wrote them on the wall of his office as examples of inspired verse.

Stopping at Peiku Mountain

WANG WAN

My route goes past blue peaks

where riverboats ply green water

the current is smooth the shores are wide

the wind is perfect for hoisting a sail

the ocean sun rises in the traces of night

the river spring starts inside the old year

how shall I send a letter home

tied to a goose bound for Loyang