LISTEN-TEXT


Hi, friends, today, I would like to introduce a new Chinese classical poem names Hiu Xiang Ou Shu. That means "Casual Works After Coming Back Hometown". Is was written by a famous Tang Dynasty (A. D.618 -907) poet -- He Zhezhang(A.D. 659-744), to express the emotional feelings when he came back his hometown in Zhenjiang Provience after leaving for his career in the capital --Changan(Today's Xian, in Shanxi Province) for over 50 years, when he was 86 years old (in A.D.744 ).


THE MAIN MEANING OF THE POEM:

I left from home when I was so young,
I return back when I am so old.

My local accent has not changed,
but my temples' hair has been sparse.

Local children meet me and do not know me,
So, they ask me with smile, "Where are you from? Guest."

CHINESE PRONUCIATION --LISTEN-TEXT

Shao4 xia3 li2 jia1 lao3 da4 hiu2,
Xian1 jin1 wei4 gai3 bin1 mao2 cui1.
Er2 tong2 xian1 jian4 bu4 xian1 shi2,
Xiao4 wen4 ke4 cong4 he2 chu4 lai2?

NEW WORDS:

shao4 xiao3: when one is young
shao4: young
xiao3: small, little, young
li2: leave
jia2:home, family (in this poem means "hometown")
lao3 da4: in old age
lao3:old
da4:big (in this poem means age very old)
hui2:return, come back
xiang1 yin1:local accent
xiang1: native place, home village, hometown
yin1:sound (in this poem means "accent")
wei4:not
gai3:change
bin4:temple
bin4 mao2: hair on the temple
cui1:sparse, few,less
er2 tong2: child, children
xiang1 jian4:meet
bu4: no, not
xiang1 shi2: know each other
xiao4:laugh, smile
wen4:ask, asking
ke4: guest, visitor
cong2:from
he2:what
he2 chu4:where
lai2:come

CHINESE CHARACTERS]--LISTEN-TEXT:

少小离家老大回，
乡音未改鬓毛衰。
儿童相见不相识，
笑问客从何处来。

Note: 衰 can be read to be"shuai1" or "cui1". Here, people usually read "cui1".

This is also a "Qi Yan Jue Ju". It has only 4 lines and every line has only 7 words. Just with the 28 words, it wrote out a very lively life scene. An old man came back to his hometown after leaving for over 50 years, his local accent was same, the landscape of the village was same, but, his hair on the temples had been white and less and the children in the village thought him to be a guest... You can imagine how many emotional feelings in his heart, how many tears in his eyes, there was happy, there was sad, there was delight and there was pity... thousands and thousands feelings were just concentrated on the 28 words in the short 4 lines... After reading this poem, what I want to do is to create one or more pictures to express the wonderful views.

What is your feelings after reading this poem?

If you have any questions, comments and suggestions, please write to shirley@ebridge.cn. I am looking forward to get your directions as well.

--Shirley
Written on Mon, 8 Aug 2005
Edited on Sat,13 Aug 2005
Recorded on Sun,14 Aug 2005