gǎn感yù遇shí十èr二shǒu首·qí其èr二

"Thoughts Stirred by Encounters" is a set of twelve poems by Zhang Jiuling. It is usually thought that he wrote them after he was removed as chief minister and sent to be an official in Jingzhou, in today's Hubei. The scheming minister Li Linfu had spoken ill of him to Emperor Xuanzong, and he was pushed out of the court. He was still loyal at heart but had no chance to say so, so he wrote about birds, flowers and plants to express what he felt. In the set of twelve in the Complete Tang Poems, this is No. 2. Three Hundred Tang Poems picks only four of them and puts this one third, so some books call it No. 3.

《感遇》是张九龄写的一组诗，一共十二首。一般认为，这组诗是他被罢去宰相、贬为荆州长史（在今天湖北荆州）以后写的。当时奸臣李林甫在唐玄宗面前说他的坏话，他被排挤出了朝廷。他心里仍然忠于朝廷，却没有机会再表达，就借写鸟、写花草来说自己的心事。这一首在《全唐诗》所收十二首里排第二；《唐诗三百首》只选了其中四首，把它排在第三，所以有的书叫它“其三”。

Zhang Jiuling (678–740), courtesy name Zishou, came from Qujiang in Shaozhou, today's Shaoguan in Guangdong. He was a famous chief minister under Emperor Xuanzong, upright and brave enough to speak the truth. He was also a fine poet; his lines about the bright moon rising over the sea, shared by people far apart, are very famous. His "Encounters" poems are plain and quiet, and often speak of his heart through things in nature.

张九龄（678—740），字子寿，韶州曲江（今广东韶关）人，唐玄宗开元年间有名的宰相，为人正直，敢说真话。他也是好诗人，《望月怀远》里的“海上生明月，天涯共此时”非常有名。他的《感遇》诗清淡、含蓄，常常借物说心事。

This poem is about a loyal heart that has nowhere to speak. At the start, the poet lives alone and tries to wash his worries away, keeping only a clean heart. But he cannot let go. He wants a high-flying bird to carry his feelings far away, that is, to the emperor in the distant capital. Yet he holds this feeling all day long, and who will be moved by it? The last two lines give the reason. A bird flies in the sky and a fish sinks in the water, so they are far apart by nature. A man of high rank and a man sent away are just the same. His sincere heart finds no comfort. The poem never blames anyone. It only sighs quietly, and it feels very lonely.

这首诗写的是一颗忠心找不到地方说。开头，诗人一个人闲居，想把心里的忧愁洗干净，只留下清白。可是心事放不下，他想托高飞的鸟把心意带到远方，也就是带给远在京城的皇帝。可是整天怀着这份心，有谁能被感动呢？最后两句说出原因：鸟在天上飞，鱼在水里沉，两者本来就隔得远；地位高的人和被贬的人，也是这样。这份诚心，找不到安慰。全诗没有一句骂人，只是安安静静地叹气，读起来很孤独。