We used to be companions on the Jiang and the Han,
And as often as we met, we were likely to be tipsy.
Since we left one another, floating apart like clouds,
Ten years have run like water-till at last we join again.
And we talk again and laugh again just as in earlier days,
Except that the hair on our heads is tinged now with grey.
Why not come along, then, all of us together,
And face the autumn mountains and sail along the Huai?
江汉曾为客，相逢每醉还。
浮云一别后，流水十年间。
欢笑情如旧，萧疏鬓已斑。
何因北归去？淮上对秋山。
Composed during Wei Yingwu's later years in retirement at Huaishang, this poem captures a chance reunion with a long-lost friend from his Liangzhou days. While the title's character "喜" (joy) sets the tone, the verses subtly interweave poignant reflections on time's passage, aging, and life's wanderings. Blending past and present with profound sincerity, the poem resonates with deep existential contemplation.
Classical Chinese poetry thrives on Concision and Ambiguity. Without tense or number, the words create a timeless space where the reader becomes the co-creator of the poem's meaning.
Look for Contrasts: light and shadow, movement and stillness. Don't just translate the words; feel the Yijing (artistic conception) that lingers long after the last character.
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