Waves Washing Sand 浪淘沙

.

We were cruising along the highway from Dongguan to Shenzhen, China to attend an Annual Dinner. I have not met this friend of mine for many years and have much to talk about. We first met eighteen years ago when Shekou, 蛇口 Shékǒu (the port servicing Shenzhen 深圳 Shēnzhèn) was still a sleepy fishing village. Then, paddy fields and duck farms flanked the road throughout the one hour journey from Shekou to Shenzhen. Today, it is high rise buildings all the way.

Like old friends, we talked about the past and the individual path we each took. We talked about choices and wondered if we made the correct one. We talked about responsibility and ambition. We talked about the purpose and meaning of Life. Along the way, our conversation led us to 浪淘沙 làngtáoshā for we wondered if our lives are like the waves washing the sand, erasing all our footsteps.

This poem was by Li Yu 李煜 lǐyù, who was the last ruler of the Southern Tang Kingdom 南唐 Nán Táng from 961 to 975 during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. The kingdom fell to the Song Dynasty 宋朝 Sòng Cháo in 975 and Li Yu and his family were held captives in the Song capital at present-day Kaifeng 开封 Kāifēng. His best poems were written during this period as he lamented the lost of his kingdom and the pleasures it brought him. He was poisoned by the Song emperor after he wrote a poem lamenting his lost.

Once he was a king, now he is a prisoner. Time washes us all, over…

浪淘沙 làngtáoshā

帘外雨潺潺, liánwàiyǔchánchán,
春意阑珊。 chūnyì lánshān.
罗衾不耐五更寒。 luóqīnbùnài wǔgènghán.
梦里不知身是客, mènglǐ bùzhī shēn shìkè,
一晌贪欢。 yīshǎng tān huān.

独自莫凭栏, dúzì mò pínglán,
无限江山, wúxiàn jiāngshān
别时容易见时难。 biéshí róngyì jiàn shínán.
流水落花春去也, liúshuǐ luòhuā chūn qùyě,
天上人间。 tiānshàng-rénjiān.


Outside the curtain, the rain murmurs,
Spring draws to an end.
The quilt cannot resist the fifth watch cold.
I did not realize I was a guest in my dream,
Coveting pleasure.

I should not be alone leaning on these railings,
While spread before me the limitless country,
It is easy to part but difficult to again meet.
Like fallen flowers on flowing water, spring is gone,
So is my paradise.

My friend told me that this was one of the two poems a closed friend of his quoted recently just before his sudden death questioning whether all we strived for were in vain…

.

(The other poem is 念奴娇 or Ode to Red Cliff which I'll translate for the next post)