游子吟

"A Song of the Traveling Son" is a deeply moving lyric that encapsulates the selfless, boundless love between a mother and her child. Composed when Meng Jiao was leaving home to pursue an official position after years of struggle, the poem centers on the intimate, everyday scene of a mother sewing her son’s outer garment. It captures her quiet anxiety and meticulous care, while the closing lines use a vivid metaphor—comparing a child’s filial piety to grass trying to repay the sun’s nurturing warmth—to emphasize the incomparable depth of maternal affection. This concise verse resonates across cultures, as it touches on the universal theme of parental sacrifice and a child’s eternal gratitude.

About the Poet

孟

孟郊

Mèng Jiāo

Meng Jiao (751–814) was a celebrated poet of the Mid-Tang Dynasty in China, a core member of the 'Han-Meng School' alongside Han Yu. Renowned for his painstaking poetic craftsmanship, his works often explore the hardships of ordinary people and the quiet profundity of familial bonds. Despite facing years of poverty and a late start to his official career, his verses, marked by concise language and sincere emotion, have become enduring classics in Chinese literature.

Cultural & Historical Context

Historical Context: The poem emerged in the Mid-Tang Dynasty (766–835), an era of post-An Lushan Rebellion instability, where familial connections became a vital anchor for people amid social upheaval. Cultural Context: It aligns with Confucianism’s core value of filial piety (xiao), which mandates respect and gratitude toward parents, a virtue deeply embedded in traditional Chinese society. Social Context: In Tang times, scholars often traveled far for imperial exams or official posts, leaving families for extended periods, making the poem’s theme of separation and maternal care widely relatable. Personal Experience: Meng Jiao endured decades of poverty and failed exams before his late career success; this poem reflects his personal gratitude for his mother’s unwavering support through his hardships. Artistically, it uses "small scene, big emotion"—the mundane act of sewing—to convey profound feeling, with a simple yet powerful metaphor that elevates ordinary maternal care to a universal, timeless truth, all in plain, sincere language that avoids ornate rhetoric.