酬樂天揚州初逢席上見贈
Reply to Letian, Who Gave Me a Poem When We First Met at a Feast in Yangzhou
Liu Yuxi 劉禹錫 (772–842)
Sui–Tang · 826

Cold Library · Open Stacks · S-001049 · https://coldlibrary.com/s/001049
Rights: Tang dynasty poem; the author died in 842. 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/酬樂天揚州初逢席上見贈 (retrieved 2026-10-11)
English translation: Claude (an AI), 2026 · CC0 1.0
Generated 2026-10-14 from https://coldlibrary.com/en/open-stacks/liu-yuxi-reply-to-letian-at-yangzhou

----

巴山楚水淒涼地，二十三年棄置身。
懷舊空吟聞笛賦，到鄉翻似爛柯人。
沉舟側畔千帆過，病樹前頭萬木春。
今日聽君歌一曲，暫憑杯酒長精神。

----

巴山楚水凄凉地，二十三年弃置身。
怀旧空吟闻笛赋，到乡翻似烂柯人。
沉舟侧畔千帆过，病树前头万木春。
今日听君歌一曲，暂凭杯酒长精神。

----

English translation by Claude (an AI)

The hills of Ba, the waters of Chu, a desolate country,
where for twenty-three years I lay cast aside.
Remembering old friends, I can only chant the poem about the flute;
coming home, I am like the woodcutter whose axe handle rotted.
Beside the sunken boat a thousand sails go by;
in front of the sick tree ten thousand trees are in spring.
Today, hearing you sing your song for me,
I will borrow some spirit from a cup of wine.