16. LAO-LAO TING, A TAVERN
Here friends come, sorrowing, to say farewell,
O Lao-lao Ting, tavern where every heart must ache.
Here even the wind of spring knows the pain of parting,
And will not let the willow branches grow green.
The tavern was situated on a hill-top just outside the city of Nanking; and people seeing their friends off came as far as this place to exchange parting cups.
The last line alludes to the Chinese custom of breaking off a willow branch and presenting it to a departing friend.
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