Poetry
贈衛八處士
Not translated into English
Du Fu · 759
Opening lines
人生不相見，動如參與商。
今夕復何夕，共此燈燭光。
In life we seldom meet again; we are apt to be like the stars Shen and Shang.
What night of nights is this, that we share the glow of this lamp?
Translation by Erostrate
Text quoted from wikisource.org
Synopsis
The poet meets the hermit Wei again, a friend he has not seen for twenty years; both have grey hair, and half of their old acquaintances are dead. The friend, who was unmarried when they parted, now has a whole row of children, who greet their father's friend politely and ask him where he comes from. Chives are cut in the night rain, rice mixed with yellow millet is served, and the host, saying how rare such meetings are, pours cup after cup.
Context
According to the Zdic dictionary, the poem was written in the spring of 759, when Du Fu, in charge of administrative affairs in Huazhou, was returning to his post from Luoyang and stopped at the home of his old friend. The rebellion had lasted more than three years; the two capitals had been retaken, but the rebels still held part of the country. The same commentary sees in the dead friends the image of lives cut down by war, and in the chives cut in the rain the simplicity of a sincere friendship. About fifteen hundred poems by Du Fu have been preserved.
Who it is for
Twenty-four lines of five characters; the opening image, two stars that never rise together, calls for a note.
Prizes and reception
Little appreciated in his lifetime, its author saw his fame culminate under the Northern Song, who named him poet-historian and poet-sage.
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