English Rendering
Don't let the songstress sing my songs anew!
Most of them are farewell poems for you.
Tomorrow again we'll part by riverside,
Alas! At moonset when outflows the tide.
Parting Again with Bai Juyi
- Poetry of Yuan Zhen
《重赠乐天》Original Text (中文原文)
休遣玲珑唱我诗，我诗多是别君词。
明朝又向江头别，月落潮平是去时。
Analysis & Context
This heptasyllabic quatrain by Yuan Zhen expresses profound affection and reluctance at parting with his friend Bai Juyi. Through vivid depictions of their present moment and premonitions of impending separation, the poet conveys deep sorrow at their farewell. The work reflects the profound friendship between the two literary giants while poignantly capturing life's impermanent reunions and partings.
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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