Yè yǔ jì běi
夜雨寄北
Lǐ Shāngyǐn (Táng)
李商隐(唐)

Jūn wèn guī qī wèi yǒu qī,
君问归期未有期,
Bāshān yè yǔ zhǎng qiū chí.
巴山夜雨涨秋池。
Hédāng gòng jiǎn xī chuāng zhú,
何当共剪西窗烛,
què huà Bāshān yè yǔ shí.
却话巴山夜雨时。

Evaluation

夜雨寄北”:雨夜中写诗寄给北方的人。这里的“北”指北方的人,从诗的内容来看,应该是指诗人的妻子。“巴山”指四川境内的山,诗人当时在四川。
“夜雨寄北(yè yǔ jì běi)” refers to the note to a friend in the north on a rainy night. “北(běi)” represents the person in the north. We can infer from the poem that the person here refers to the wife of the poet. “巴山(Bāshān)“ stands for the mountains in Sichuan, because the poet was in Sichuan at that time.

你问我回家的日期,这回家的日期嘛,还没有个准儿啊。巴山的夜里下着绵绵的秋雨,池塘都已经涨满了水。什么时候能够和你团聚在西窗下,一起剪烛芯,那时再来谈谈这个巴山夜雨的时刻。
You ask when I’m coming back home, but I really don’t know the exact date yet. The endless rain filled the pools on this autumn night. When we shall be able to trim wicks again, together in your western window, I would talk to you about this moment of night rain in Sichuan.

这首诗写诗人在远离家乡的四川,一个秋雨连绵的夜晚,他怀着浓浓的对故乡和家人的思念,读着妻子的来信,憧憬着将来与家人团聚后再回忆起这个孤独、愁苦的夜晚的情景。
The poem depicts the poet’s deep yearning for his faraway homeland and family on a rainy autumn night. Reading his wife’s letter, he imagined the moment of family reunion when he would tell them about this lonely and cold night again in Sichuan.

Explanation

日期(rìqī)n. date
绵绵的(miánmián de)a. endless
池塘(chítáng)n. pool; pond
团聚(guāngjù)v. reunite
烛芯(zhú xīn )n. candle wick
怀着(huáizhe)v. be filled with (in one’s heart)
思念(sīniàn) v. miss; yearn for
憧憬(chōngjǐng)v. look forward to
回忆(huíyì)v. recall; look back

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