贈衛八處士
For Wei the Eighth, a Gentleman Living Retired
Du Fu 杜甫 (712–770)
Sui–Tang · 759

Cold Library · Open Stacks · S-001040 · https://coldlibrary.com/s/001040
Rights: Tang dynasty poem; the author died in 770. Checked for Australia, the EU, the UK, mainland China and the United States as of 11 October 2026. Guidance, not legal advice.
Source: Wikisource, https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/贈衛八處士 (retrieved 2026-10-11)
English translation: Claude (an AI), 2026 · CC0 1.0
Generated 2026-10-14 from https://coldlibrary.com/en/open-stacks/du-fu-for-wei-the-eighth

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人生不相見，動如參與商。
今夕復何夕，共此燈燭光。
少壯能幾時，鬢髮各已蒼。
訪舊半爲鬼，驚呼熱中腸。
焉知二十載，重上君子堂。
昔別君未婚，兒女忽成行。
怡然敬父執，問我來何方。
問答乃未已，驅兒羅酒漿。
夜雨翦春韭，新炊間黃粱。
主稱會面難，一舉累十觴。
十觴亦不醉，感子故意長。
明日隔山岳，世事兩茫茫。

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人生不相见，动如参与商。
今夕复何夕，共此灯烛光。
少壮能几时，鬓发各已苍。
访旧半为鬼，惊呼热中肠。
焉知二十载，重上君子堂。
昔别君未婚，儿女忽成行。
怡然敬父执，问我来何方。
问答乃未已，驱儿罗酒浆。
夜雨剪春韭，新炊间黄粱。
主称会面难，一举累十觞。
十觞亦不醉，感子故意长。
明日隔山岳，世事两茫茫。

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English translation by Claude (an AI)

In this life we seldom meet;
we move like the Shen and Shang stars.
And tonight, what night is this,
that we share the light of this lamp?
How long do youth and strength last?
Our hair at the temples is already grey.
I ask after old friends: half are ghosts;
I cry out in surprise, my heart burning.
How could I know that after twenty years
I would come again into your hall?
When we parted you were not yet married;
now your sons and daughters stand in a row.
Cheerfully they greet their father's friend
and ask me where I have come from.
Before the questions and answers are done,
you send the children to set out the wine.
In the night rain they cut spring chives;
fresh-cooked rice is mixed with yellow millet.
You say how hard it is for us to meet,
and raise your cup ten times in a row.
Ten cups, and I am still not drunk;
I am moved by how long your old friendship lasts.
Tomorrow mountains will lie between us,
and the world's affairs will be lost in mist for both.