Flowers only lovely if you are staying in Changan!

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Demoted South of The Lan Pass

Demoted South of The Lan Pass  (For my nephew in Hunan)      Han Yu 768-824 Just one memorial to the Emperor     such a heavy penalty, Evening demotion to Chaozhou     eight thousand miles away. I only wished his majesty     to abolish evil practices, Now just see      where I must spend my last years! Clouds hang low     mountains tremble         where is my home now? Snow embraces the Languan     my horse refused to go on. I think from afar     you know how I feel, Resting my sack of bones     by this miasmic riverside.

Zài Zuǒ Zhì Lánguān

Hán Yù 768-824 Yī fēng cháo zòu jiǔchóngtiān, Xī biǎn Cháozhōu lù bāqiān. Yù wèi Shèngmíng chúbì shì, Kěn jiāng shuāixiǔ xī cánnián! Yún héng zòu lǐng jiā hézài? Xuě yōng Lánguān mǎ bù qiān. Zhī rǔ yuǎnlái yīng yǒuyì, Hǎo shōu wú gǔ zhàng jiāngbiān.

Translator:

Dongbo 東波

Notes: Han Yu was Confucian, who disliked Buddhism. But he was not doctrinare. There was always thought behind his opinions. And unlike doctrinare Confucians, he had a sharp sense of humor. In this case it is 'black humor'. His memorial to the emperor urged him not to allow the Buddha's finger bone to be worshiped and paraded through the streets of Changan. In this poems he slyly refers to his memorial by refering to himself as a sack of bones! Please see same poem translated by Red Pine!

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