Original text and translation by Yan Shu of Huanxi Sha

"Huanxisha" Yan Shu's original text: A new song with a glass of wine, the weather is the same as last year. When the sun sets in the west, the flowers fall helplessly, and the familiar swallows return, wandering alone in the fragrant path of the small garden.

Translation: Listen to a song composed with new words and drink a glass of wine. The weather and the old pavilions are still there at this time last year. But the sun is setting in front of me, and I don’t know when it will come back again. Helpless, the spring flowers are withering. And the swallows that I seemed to have seen last year have now flown back to their old nests. (I couldn't help myself) I wandered melancholy on the path covered with fallen flowers in the small garden.

Yan Shu (991-1055), named Tongshu, was born in Linchuan (now Jiangxi). He was able to write at the age of seven. At the age of fourteen, he was called a child prodigy and was awarded the title of Jinshi. During the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty, he served as Tongping Zhangshi and Privy Envoy, and famous officials such as Fan Zhongyan, Han Qi, and Ouyang Xiu all worked under his sect.

Content Appreciation

This is the most popular chapter among Yan Shu’s poems. The first part of the poem interweaves and integrates nostalgia, sentimentality for the present, and cherishment of time through chanting about the scene in front of you. A new song, A Glass of Wine, shows the scene of "singing over wine". It seems that the protagonist is very obsessed with the joy of feasting and chanting. Indeed, as the "Taiping Prime Minister" who enjoys great honor and advocates elegance, singing and drinking is one of the ways of entertainment that the author is accustomed to and is willing to ask about.

However, in the author's memory, the most unforgettable thing was the singing banquet last year. The sentence "last year's weather" points out that the sunny spring scenery in front of us is the same as last year, and the pavilion where the author is located happens to be a place where people used to drink and listen to songs. When you return to your old place, nostalgia is inevitable. This sentence contains a sense of nostalgia that the scenery remains the same but the people are completely different. This sense of nostalgia is mixed with a deep sadness for the present.

Reference for the above content: Baidu Encyclopedia - Huanxisha