Only by sailing and the sky is blue can we see the Yangtze River flow. What does this mean?

The lonely sail shadow of my friend faded away and disappeared at the end of the blue sky, only seeing a line of the Yangtze River, heading for the distant sky.

This poem comes from Li Bai's Farewell to Meng Haoran on the way to Yangzhou in the Tang Dynasty.

Original text:

Old friends frequently waved to me, bid farewell to the Yellow Crane Tower, and traveled to Yangzhou in this beautiful spring filled with catkins and flowers.

My friend's sail shadow faded away and disappeared at the end of the blue sky, only seeing the first line of the Yangtze River and heading for the distant horizon.

Translation:

Old friends frequently waved to me, bid farewell to the Yellow Crane Tower, and traveled to Yangzhou on this catkin-like, flowery March spring day. The lonely sail shadow of my friend faded away and disappeared at the end of the blue sky, only seeing a line of the Yangtze River, heading for the distant sky.

Extended data

Farewell to Meng Haoran's trip to Yangzhou is a farewell poem, which contains feelings of parting and scenery writing.

Start with a narrative and express your feelings with stories: fireworks in March, beautiful spring, friends going to the bustling Yangzhou, sending flowers all the way. In the Yellow Crane Tower, poets practice for friends, talk to each other, and reluctantly express their sincerity in friendship with friends.

At the end of this scene, the poet watched his friend's lonely boat go down the river until it disappeared at the end of the sky. He only saw the surging and mighty Yangtze River water, which was touching and meaningful, expressing the poet's loyalty and long-term friendship.

"Lonely sails sail in the blue sky, and only the Yangtze River flows in the sky." The last two sentences of the poem look like landscape writing, but there is a poetic detail in landscape writing. Li Bai has been sending his friends to the boat, and the boat has already left, while he is still watching the sails in the distance by the river.

Li Bai's eyes looked at the sail shadow until it gradually blurred and disappeared at the end of the blue sky, showing a long time to watch. The shadow of the sail has disappeared, but Li Bai is still staring at it. At this time, he noticed that a river with spring water is flowing far to the junction of water and sky.