English Rendering
The going-out lamp seems flameless, looms dim and flickering;
This evening I hear my friend’s relegated to Jiujiang,
Which makes me startled and sit up although I am dying,
Into my window a dark wind with a cold rain blows strong.
On Hearing the News that My Friend Bai Juyi Is Relegated to Jiujiang
- Poetry of Yuan Zhen
《闻乐天授江州司马》#Friendship
Original Text (中文原文)
残灯无焰影幢幢，此夕闻君谪九江。
垂死病中惊坐起，暗风吹雨入寒窗。
Analysis & Context
This poem is a timeless masterpiece of response by the Mid-Tang poet Yuan Zhen to Bai Juyi, composed in the tenth year of Emperor Xianzong's Yuanhe period (815 AD). Yuan Zhen and Bai Juyi passed the imperial examination in the same year, shared similar ideals and interests, and jointly advocated the New Yuefu Movement; together they are known as "Yuan-Bai." Their friendship was profound, with numerous poetic exchanges and responses, especially the poems sent during their respective exiles, which are the most moving.
Reader's Companion
The Essence of the Verse
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.
Reading Between the Lines
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.
- Parting Again with Bai Juyi
- Dream and No Dream
- Chrysanthemums
- On Hearing the News that My Friend Bai Juyi Is Relegated to Jiujiang
- Waiting for the moonshine at the West Chamber
- After you came to Northern Sea
- The Summit Temple
- <Prelude to Water Melody> Sent to Ziyou on Mid-autumn Festival
- Invitation to Wine
- Question and Answer in the Mountains
- Cold sheet
- Coming Home ( Returning Home )
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