On the Stork Tower by Wan Zhi Huan

At the graduation ceremony, Hannah's class recited two famous Tang dynasty poems.  The first was  'Seng guan que lou' ('On the Stork Tower') by Wan Zhi Huan (688-742) which is is #236 in the famous collection of 300 Tang poems. 

“On the Stork Tower” by Wang Zhihuan

“The mountains eclipse the setting sun, 
While seawards the Yellow River runs; 
To widen your view to hundreds of miles, 
Come to the upper storey by climbing one more flight.”


You can hear this in chinese by clicking this link.

登鹳雀楼

Dēng guàn què lóu

[ascend] [stork] [sparrow] [tower]

白日依山尽,

bái rì yī shān jìn

[white] [sun] [on] [mountain] [finish]

黄河入海流。

huáng hé rù hǎi liú

[Yellow] [River] [enter] [sea] [flow]

欲穷千里目

yù qióng qiān lǐ mù

want] [furthest] [thousand] [mile] [eye]

更上一层楼。

gèng shàng yì céng lóu

[more] [ascend] [one] [floor] [tower]

'Ascend one floor tower' (更上一層樓) is now a general idiom for taking things up a level

http://eastasiastudent.net/china/wenyan/wang-zhihuan-stork-tower/

The Stork Tower is a tower in Shanxi province, with three floors, situated between mountains and the Yellow River.   I think the tower in this link is the right one.

"This five-character quatrain has been widely read and praised by generations of Chinese. Easy to read, the poem is ostensibly about climbing a little higher to enjoy the distant view, but actually puts forth a profound philosophical principle in these few lines.

'The mountains eclipse the setting sun, While seawards the Yellow River runs;' The sun gracefully glides into the vast expanse of the mountains while the Yellow River rushes into the surging, powerful, magnificent, and faraway ocean. In the comparison between the tension and serenity, motion and calm, a magnificent picture is painted for us: the graceful sunset, the mountains, the ocean, and the golden river. This poem takes in everything at a glance.

'To widen your view to hundreds of miles, Come to the upper storey by climbing one more flight.' In the last two lines the author ingeniously transits from a portrait of natural destiny to a philosophical theory of life. His words are concise but comprehensive. Instead of eloquent debate, Wang Zhihuan used a simple metaphor to lay bare the secret of ascending through realms. Through the ages there have been innumerable poems about ascending to greater heights to enjoy a distant view, but none of them can compare to this one for its philosophical value. It is no surprise that 'On the Stork Tower' by Wang Zhihuan remains one of the most frequently recited poems for thousands of people through generations because it is really the best among the best poems in history.  (http://www.pureinsight.org/node/1063)