Tang poem · five-character regulated verse唐诗 · 五言律诗

xǐ喜jiàn见wài外dì弟yòu又yán言bié别

lǐ李yì益Li Yi · Tang唐

Glad to Meet My Cousin, Then Saying Goodbye Again

shí十nián年lí离luàn乱hòu后

zhǎng长dà大yì一xiāng相féng逢

wèn问xìng姓jīng惊chū初jiàn见

chēng称míng名yì忆jiù旧róng容

bié别lái来cāng沧hǎi海shì事

yǔ语bà罢mù暮tiān天zhōng钟

míng明rì日bā巴líng陵dào道

qiū秋shān山yòu又jǐ几chóng重

Underlined words have notes: tap one. The Pinyin button below shows or hides all pinyin. 一 and 不 are marked with the tone you actually say.字下有虚线的，点开有注释。下方的“拼音”按钮可以显示或隐藏全部拼音。“一”“不”标的是实际读出来的变调。

Line by line逐句翻译

十年离乱后After ten years of war and scattering,经过十年的战乱和离散，
长大一相逢we have grown up, and at last we meet.我们都长大了，才终于见面。
问姓惊初见When I ask his family name, I am surprised, as if meeting a stranger;问起姓氏，我吃惊地以为是初次见面的人；
称名忆旧容when he tells me his name, I remember the face he had as a child.等他说出名字，我才想起他小时候的样子。
别来沧海事We talk about the huge changes since we parted,我们说起分别以来天翻地覆的变化，
语罢暮天钟and when we finish, the evening temple bell is ringing.说完时，傍晚寺庙的钟声已经响了。
明日巴陵道Tomorrow you set off on the road to Baling,明天你就要走上去巴陵的路，
秋山又几重and how many autumn mountains will lie between us again?中间又要隔着几重秋天的山啊。

Words字词注释

离乱lí luàn: lí luàn: families torn apart by war. Here, the years of fighting after the An Lushan Rebellion.离乱：因为战乱，家人离散。这里指安史之乱以后多年的动乱。
一相逢yì xiāng féng: yī xiāng féng: suddenly meeting, at last seeing each other.一相逢：一下子遇见了，终于见了一面。
问姓wèn xìng: wèn xìng: asking what his family name is.问姓：问对方姓什么。
惊初见jīng chū jiàn: jīng chū jiàn: surprised, thinking this is a stranger met for the first time.惊初见：吃惊地以为是第一次见面的陌生人。
称名chēng míng: chēng míng: he says his given name.称名：对方说出名字。
旧容jiù róng: jiù róng: how he looked long ago, as a child.旧容：小时候的样子。
沧海事cāng hǎi shì: cāng hǎi shì: from the saying that the blue sea turns into mulberry fields; it means the world has changed enormously.沧海事：“沧海桑田”的意思，大海变成桑田，比喻世事变化很大。
语罢yǔ bà: yǔ bà: when the talking is over.语罢：话说完了。
暮天钟mù tiān zhōng: mù tiān zhōng: the temple bell that rings at dusk.暮天钟：傍晚寺庙里敲响的钟声。
巴陵bā líng: bā líng: a place, today's Yueyang in Hunan.巴陵：地名，在今天湖南岳阳。
几重jǐ chóng: jǐ chóng: how many layers, how many ranges.几重（chóng）：几层。

How to read it读音

重chóng: Here it means layers, so it is read chóng, not zhòng.“几重”是几层，“重”读 chóng，不读 zhòng。

Background创作背景

Li Yi lived through the An Lushan Rebellion as a child, and for many years afterward the land was unsettled and families were scattered. This poem is about meeting his younger cousin by chance after ten years apart. They talked for a long time, but the next day the cousin had to leave for Baling. So the title says he was glad to see him, and then had to say goodbye. The exact year is not known.

李益小时候经历了安史之乱，之后好多年天下不太平，亲人四处离散。这首诗写他和表弟分别十年后偶然重逢。“外弟”是表弟，就是姑妈或舅舅家的弟弟。两人一起说了很久的话，第二天表弟又要往巴陵去了，所以题目说“喜见”又“言别”。具体写于哪一年不详。

The poet作者

Li Yi (about 746 to about 829) was a Tang poet. He passed the highest exam when young and spent many years working in armies on the northern frontier. He was best at seven-character quatrains, and his frontier poems are famous, such as "Hearing a Flute on the Wall of Shouxiang at Night". This poem is about family members meeting and parting, in plain words with true feeling.

李益（约746—约829），唐代诗人，年轻时考中进士，曾经长期在北方边塞的军队里做事。他最擅长写七言绝句，边塞诗很有名，比如《夜上受降城闻笛》。这首五言律诗写的是亲人之间的离合，语言朴素，感情真切。

The mood意境

The best part is the middle pair of lines. They parted as children and meet again as grown-ups. Face to face, they do not know each other, so he first asks the family name. Hearing the given name, he suddenly remembers the child's face. One word for surprise and one for remembering bring that moment of shock and joy to life. Then they talk until the evening bell rings; ten years of change cannot be told in one night. But the joy is not over before parting comes again, with layer after layer of autumn mountains ahead. In just forty characters the poem moves from joy to sorrow, and shows how in times of war, families meet rarely and part often.

这首诗最妙的是中间“问姓惊初见，称名忆旧容”两句。分别时都是孩子，再见时已经长大，面对面也认不出来，只好先问姓什么。一听名字，才猛然想起小时候的模样。一“惊”一“忆”，把重逢那一刻又意外又惊喜的样子写活了。接着两人说了很久，说到天黑钟响，十年的变化一夜说不完。可是高兴还没过去，明天又要分别，前面是一层又一层的秋山。整首诗从喜到悲，短短四十个字，写尽了乱世里亲人聚少离多的无奈。