Ascent of the stork tower

Climbing the Stork Tower (《登鸛雀樓》Dēng Guànquè Lóu ) is one of the most famous Chinese poems. It dates from the Tang Dynasty .

shape

The work attributed to the poet Wang Zhihuan (688-742) has the form of a five-syllable quatrain ( wuyan jueju ). It was included in the famous anthology Three Hundred Tang Poems .

Stork tower

The original three-story building was in Puzhou, Shanxi, on the Yellow River . A 73.9 meter high new building in the style of the Tang period was built between 1997 and 2002 around five kilometers west of Puzhou.

The four famous towers of the old days include:

黃鶴樓Huánghè Lóu (Tower of the Yellow Crane; Wuhan , Hubei ),
岳陽樓Yuèyáng Lóu ; (Yueyang Tower; Yueyang , Hunan ),
滕王閣Téngwáng Gé ; (Prince Teng Pavilion; Nanchang , Jiangxi )
鸛雀樓Guànquè Lóu ; (Stork Tower; Yongji , Shanxi )

meaning

The poem was also set to music. It is very popular in Chinese reading and writing classes: a better perspective is offered to those who are willing to make greater efforts.

text

Abbreviation	Long characters	Pinyin	translation
登鹳雀楼白日依山尽，黄河入海流。欲穷千里目，更上一层楼。	登鸛雀樓白日依山盡，黃河入海流。欲窮千里目，更上一層樓。	Dēng Guànquè Lóu Báirì yī shān jìn Huáng Hé rù hǎi liú. Yù qióng qiānlǐ mù, gèng shàng yì céng lóu.	Ascent of the stork tower The white sun is exhausted in the mountains, The yellow river pours into the sea. To see a thousand miles, go up another floor.

Videos

Deng Guanque lou (a) , (b) , (c) (d) , (e) Ascending the Stork Tower - youtube.com

Web links

Wikisource: Ascent of the Stork Tower - Sources and full texts (Chinese)

english.people.com.cn: China Rebuilds Ancient Stork Tower in Shanxi - English

References and footnotes

↑ Chinese 登鸛雀樓 / 登鹳雀楼 , Pinyin Dēng Guànquè Lóu . The Chinese word Lóu ( 樓 / 楼 , lóu ) in the title denotes a multi-storey building.
↑ Chinese 王之渙 / 王之涣 , Pinyin Wáng Zhīhuàn , W.-G. Wang Chih-huan ; see. Volker Klöpsch, Eva Müller, Ruth Keen: Lexicon of Chinese Literature . 2004
↑ Chinese 五言絕句 / 五言绝句 , Pinyin wǔyán juéjù
↑ Chinese 唐詩三百首 , Pinyin Tángshī sānbái shǒu
↑ 蒲州, today's Puzhou community蒲州镇 by Yongji永济市; see. english.peopledaily.com.cn: Archeological Finding Reveals Ancient Yellow River Courses
↑ See e.g. B. Zhongguo shiyue - Deng Guanque lou (youtube.com) (here attributed to Li Bai ) & Deng Guanque lou (youtube.com) .
↑ The Pinyin notation used here does not reproduce the sounds of the Tang period.

[1] Chinese 登鸛雀樓 / 登鹳雀楼 , Pinyin Dēng Guànquè Lóu . The Chinese word Lóu ( 樓 / 楼 , lóu ) in the title denotes a multi-storey building.

[2] Chinese 王之渙 / 王之涣 , Pinyin Wáng Zhīhuàn , W.-G. Wang Chih-huan ; see. Volker Klöpsch, Eva Müller, Ruth Keen: Lexicon of Chinese Literature . 2004

[3] Chinese 五言絕句 / 五言绝句 , Pinyin wǔyán juéjù

[4] Chinese 唐詩三百首 , Pinyin Tángshī sānbái shǒu

[5] 蒲州, today's Puzhou community蒲州镇 by Yongji永济市; see. english.peopledaily.com.cn: Archeological Finding Reveals Ancient Yellow River Courses

[6] See e.g. B. Zhongguo shiyue - Deng Guanque lou (youtube.com) (here attributed to Li Bai ) & Deng Guanque lou (youtube.com) .

[7] The Pinyin notation used here does not reproduce the sounds of the Tang period.