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》
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
By Yuan Zhen
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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