"Yes, I live here, by the river;
I have sailed on it many and many a time.
Both of us born in Changgan, you and I!
Why haven't we always known each other?"
Original Poem:
「长干行 · 其二」
崔颢
家临九江水，来去九江侧。
同是长干人，生小不相识。
Interpretation:
The poem is linguistically plain as day. Is it not, literally at a glance, a conversation between a woman and a man who meet by chance on a river? What gives it its vitality to this day?
It is the beautiful emotion that has been recognized by human society for thousands of years that flows between the lines: the deep feeling of longing for home.
In the feudal era, men and women are not close, a boat woman just because she heard the accent, think “or fear is the same hometown”, then completely disregard the constraints of feudal rituals and stop the boat to ask for help, see its mood of urgency. The fact that she couldn’t wait to announce her home-“I live in Hengtang”-is a vivid demonstration of her joyful feeling of looking forward to seeing her fellow countrymen. This is because the accent of her hometown makes her feel friendly, and the accent of her hometown makes her feel the urge to see her relatives in her hometown. All this is due to her love for her hometown.
The man’s reply was “We are all from Changgan, but we have never met each other since we were born”. Although the words are from the man’s mouth, but the two people are common wandering career sigh, is the long years outside the helplessness. This sigh is also due to the love of home.
The poet captures a scene of life, using white description techniques to express people’s love for their hometown, both subtle and vivid, interesting life. Some people think that this is a poem about love between men and women, that love comes too suddenly. This is the fault of subtlety.
Poem translator:
Kiang Kanghu
About the poet:
Cui Hao (崔颢), A.D. ? – 754, a native of Kaifeng, Henan Province. He was admitted as a scholar in 723 AD. At that time, Cui Hao was well known, along with Wang Changling, Gao Shi, Meng Haoran, and Wang Wei.
