Who is Wang Lun?

Wang Lun, also known as Wenhuan and Fenglin, was a native of Yi County, Shezhou (Taiping County, Xuanzhou, now Huangshan, Huangshan City, Anhui Province). During the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, he served as the magistrate of Jing County, a poet, and a close friend of the famous poet Li Bai.

After leaving office, because he was nostalgic for Peach Blossom Pond, he moved his family from Yi County to Jing County and lived by the Peach Blossom Pond in Jing County. From the first year of Tianbao (740) to the first year of Baoying (761), Li Bai visited Dangtu, Xuancheng, Jingxian, Qiupu, Nanling and other places in Anhui many times, and visited Taohuatan in Jingxian.

Wang Lun entertained guests with fine wine and invited Li Bai to be his guest. When leaving, Li Bai composed "A Gift to Wang Lun".

The whole poem is as follows:

Li Bai was about to travel in a boat when he suddenly heard the sound of people singing on the shore.

The water in Peach Blossom Pond is a thousand feet deep, not as deep as Wang Lun’s love for me.

The translation is as follows:

Li Bai was about to leave for a long journey in a boat, when he suddenly heard the sound of singing from the shore.

Even if the water of Peach Blossom Pond is a thousand feet deep, it cannot compare with Wang Lun’s sentiments for sending me off.

The first two lines of this poem describe the scene when Wang Lun came to see Li Bai off by singing and singing. They simply and naturally express Wang Lun's simple and sincere feelings for Li Bai; the last two lines first use " "A Thousand Feet Deep" praises the depth of the Peach Blossom Pond, followed by the word "less than", using a foil technique to turn the invisible friendship into the tangible Thousand Feet Pond, vividly expressing Wang Lun's admiration for Li Bai. A sincere and deep friendship.

Li Bai traveled from Guangling and Jinling to Xuancheng in the thirteenth year of Tianbao (754), so this poem should not be earlier than before.

Extended information:

During the Tianbao period of the Tang Dynasty, Wang Lun heard that the great poet Li Bai was staying at the home of his uncle Li Bingyang in Nanling, so he wrote a letter inviting Li Bai to visit his home.

The letter said: "Sir, how do you like to travel? There are ten miles of peach blossoms here. How do you like to drink, sir? There are thousands of hotels here." Li Bai was fond of drinking, and when he heard about such beautiful scenery, he happily accepted the invitation. I arrived, but I didn’t see the grand scene mentioned in the letter.

Wang Lun entertained Li Bai warmly and brought out wine brewed from Peach Blossom Pond water to drink with Li Bai. He smiled and told Li Bai: "Peach Blossom is the name of the pond ten miles away, and there is no Peach Blossom ten miles away." , the owner of the hotel is named Wan, not Wanjia Hotel."

Li Bai burst into laughter after hearing this. He did not feel that he was fooled, but was moved by Wang Lun's kindness, which coincided with the spring breeze and the peach and plum blossoms. The mountains were red everywhere, and the lake was deep green, clear and crystal clear, reflecting the green mountains. Wang Lun stayed with Li Bai for several days, treated him with fine wine every day, and gave him eight famous horses and ten official brocades as a farewell gift.

Li Bai took a boat on Dongyuan Ancient Ferry to go to Wancun and boarded the dry road to Lushan Mountain. Wang Lun held a banquet in Gu'an Pavilion to bid farewell to Li Bai. He also picked two jars of wine and presented them to Li Bai. Li Bai was deeply grateful for Wang Lun's kindness and wrote a poem "Gift to Wang Lun"

Baidu Encyclopedia - Wang Lun