67. Given to Secretary Zhang on the Night of August Fifteenth

A poem by Han Yu, translated by Hyun Woo Kim, and an announcement

Thin clouds are rolled up in all directions—no Milky Way in the sky;

A clear wind blows in the void, and the moon spreads in waves.

On the sandy plain, the water is at rest—no more voices and shadows;

Offering each other a glass, you must sing.

Your singing voice is sad, and the words are also painful;

One cannot listen to it till the end—tears like rain.

Dongting continued to the sky, and the Jiuyi was high;

Jiaolong appeared and disappeared—orangutans and flying squirrels cried.

At the government office, where I arrived after ten lives and nine deaths,

I lived a hidden life in silence, like a runaway.

Getting off the bed, I got scared of snakes, and when eating, of poisonous plants;

The sea air stayed damp, its smell like fish and pork fat.

"Yesterday, they pounded on the big drum in front of the provincial office;

The new emperor will inherit the holy will and appoint Kui and Gao.

The document of pardon will run ten thousand lis in a day;

Even criminals who deserve to be beheaded will be all exempt from death.

The relegated will go back, and the exiled will return,

Their shortcomings washed away and their stain scrubbed off, and the palace will be ruled in a pure manner..."

The names reported by the provincial office were rejected by the governor's office:

Things aren't going my way, and I am just getting transferred to Jing, a barbarous land!

One cannot dare say a judge is a lowly position:

He cannot escape being flogged in dirt and dust.

Many of the colleagues, who came at the same time, are now on the road up;

The road to the capital is hidden and rough—it is hard to catch up.

Your song may take a brief rest—listen to my song;

My song now is of a different kind from yours.

The brightest moon of the year is here tonight!

One's life follows destiny, not following something else.

We have wine—if we do not drink, what shall we do with the bright moon?

「八月十五夜贈張功曹」

纖雲四卷天無河

清風吹空月舒波

沙平水息聲影絕

一杯相屬君當歌

君歌聲酸辭且苦

不能聽終淚如雨

洞庭連天九疑高

蛟龍出沒猩鼯號

十生九死到官所

幽居默默如藏逃

下床畏蛇食畏藥

海氣濕蟄熏腥臊

昨者州前捶大鼓

嗣皇繼聖登夔臯

赦書一日行萬里

罪從大辟皆除死

遷者追回流者還

滌瑕蕩垢朝清班

州家申名使家抑

坎軻祗得移荊蠻

判司卑官不堪說

未免捶楚塵埃間

同時輩流多上道

天路幽險難追攀

君歌且休聽我歌

我歌今與君殊科

一年明月今宵多

人生由命非由他

有酒不飲奈明何

From Hyun Woo:

When Han Yu gave today’s poem to his friend, Secretary Zhang, they had been kicked out of the palace and relegated to relatively low positions far away from the capital. While I acknowledge that the lines from the poem above should be understood as expressions of sadness and frustration, I think Han Yu had some good sense of humor. What is Han Yu and his friend’s life like away from the capital? In order to reach their new posts, they need to go through “ten lives and nine deaths” just to get there, where “orangutans and flying squirrels” cry. Even after arrival, they get “scared of snakes” when they get off their beds. Then they hear the news of pardon from the new emperor, but their hope gets crushed since “the names reported by the provincial office were rejected by the governor's office”, and they are “just getting transferred to Jing, a barbarous land” instead. The details of their lives from the poem are hilarious. A tragedy in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot, I guess.

Yes, life was disappointing even in ninth-century China. But what can we do? We have some wine at least. So, drink up.

Announcement:

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