You have just come from our native place，dear fellow,
What happened there you should have known.
On the day you came，before your gorgeous window,
Were the winter plums in blossom grown?
Original Poem:
「杂诗」
王维
君自故乡来， 应知故乡事。
来日绮窗前， 寒梅著花未。
Interpretation:
This poem mainly expresses the nostalgic feelings of a traveler.
The first two lines: you are just coming from our hometown, you must know the human condition in your hometown.
The main character of this poem is a traveler who has been living in another country for a long time. When he suddenly meets a friend from his hometown in another country, he is instantly stirred up with infinite feelings of homesickness. He wants to know more about his hometown.
The last two sentences: When you came to my house, in front of the window with the carved pattern, has the Chinese plum blossomed yet?
Did the plum blossom in front of my window when you came? It may seem counterintuitive to ask about plum blossoms instead of starting with the family members who are most concerned about them, but when you think about it, it’s not. Sometimes, we tend to have such a mentality, the more concerned about things, may be the more afraid to speak out, so we have to ask the seemingly irrelevant plum blossoms.
The whole poem seems to be a snap, but in fact, after artistic refinement, expresses a wealth of feelings.
Poem translator:
Kiang Kanghu
About the poet:
Wang Wei (王维), 701-761 A.D., was a native of Yuncheng, Shanxi Province. Wang Wei was a poet of landscape and idylls. His poems of landscape and idylls, with far-reaching images and mysterious meanings, were widely loved by readers in later generations, but Wang Wei never really became a man of landscape and idylls.
