Su Dongpo: Came Again to Mt. Chan, Compared to a Poem From Past Years

Came Again to Mt. Chan, Compared to a Poem From Past Years

再 过 常 山 和 昔 年 留 别 诗

伛 偻 山 前 叟
迎 我 如 迎 新。
那 知 梦 幻 躯
念 念 非 昔 人。

江 湖 久 放 浪
朝 市 谁 相 亲。
却 寻 泉 源 去
桃 花 逢 避 秦。

Zai Guo Chang Shan He Xi Nian Liu Bie Shi

Yu lou shan qian sou
Ying wo ru ying xin.
Na zhi meng huan qu
Nian nian bei xi ren.

Jiang hu jiu fang lang
Zhao shi shei xiang qin.
Que xun quan yuan qu
Tao hua feng bi qin.

Came Again to Mt. Chan, Compared to a Poem From Past Years

In front of the mountain, an old hunchbacked man
Greeted me like another homecoming for relatives.
Then we knew our lives appeared to be something magical from a dream
Thought for a while how different we are from former times.

For a long time I have been in places of exile
Palace people and merchants no longer know me.
Here I have found people to be thankful for the newly developed springheads
Everywhere are the peach blossoms of Tao Yuanming, and these people who have avoided the political corruptions.

Notes:

Tao Yuanming (365-427): Famous poet from the Eastern Jin Dynasty. You can also refer to posts at this website for biographical information and poems.  Specifically, Su Dongpo is referring to Tao’s famous poem Peach Blossom Water Source.