"This has been difficult to do since ancient times, but I hope people will live forever" means: This kind of thing has been difficult to do comprehensively since ancient times. I just hope that all the relatives in this world can be safe and healthy, and can enjoy this beautiful moonlight even if they are thousands of miles apart.
Original text:
"Shui Tiao Ge Tou·When will the bright moon come" by Su Shi of the Song Dynasty
Bingchen wrote this article during the Mid-Autumn Festival when he was drunk until the end of the year. , and pregnant with a child.
When will the bright moon appear? Ask the sky for wine. I don’t know what year it is today in the palace in the sky. I want to ride the wind back home, but I'm afraid it's too cold in the high places. Dance and clear the shadow, how can it be like being in the human world? (What is like? One word: when; and one word: fear? One word: only / only fear)
Turn around the Zhu Pavilion, look down at the door, and the light will make you sleepless. There shouldn't be any hatred, so what's the point of saying goodbye? People have joys and sorrows, separations and reunions, and the moon waxes and wanes. This has never been the case in ancient times. I hope that people will live long and travel thousands of miles to meet Chanjuan.
About the author:
Su Shi (1037-1101) was a writer, calligrapher, painter and gourmet in the Northern Song Dynasty. His courtesy name is Zizhan and his nickname is Dongpo Jushi. Han nationality, Sichuan native, buried in Yingchang (now Jiaxian County, Pingdingshan City, Henan Province). He had a bumpy official career throughout his life, but he was knowledgeable and talented. He was excellent in poetry, calligraphy and painting. His writing is unbridled, clear and fluent. Together with Ouyang Xiu, he is called Ou Su, and he is one of the "Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties". His poetry is fresh and vigorous, good at using exaggeration and metaphor, and his artistic expression is unique. He is also called Su Huang together with Huang Tingjian. He started a bold and unrestrained school and had a huge influence on later generations. Together with Xin Qiji, he was called Su Xin. He was good at calligraphy in running script and regular script. He was able to create his own ideas. His pen was rich and ups and downs, and he had an innocent taste. He was called Song Dynasty together with Huang Tingjian, Mi Fu and Cai Xiang. The four schools have the same painting studies and literature, advocate spiritual similarity in painting, and advocate "scholar painting". He is the author of "The Complete Works of Su Dongpo" and "Dongpo Yuefu" etc.
Translation:
On the Mid-Autumn Festival of the Bingchen year, he drank happily until the next morning, until he was very drunk. I wrote this poem while missing my younger brother Su Che.
When did the bright moon begin to appear? I picked up my wine glass and asked the sky. I don’t know what year or month it is in the palace in the sky. I want to ride the cool breeze back to the sky, but I'm afraid I can't stand the cold for nine days in a building made of beautiful jade. Dancing gracefully and admiring the clear shadows under the moon, it doesn't feel like you are in the human world.
The moon turned around the vermilion pavilion and hung low on the carved windows, illuminating myself who was not sleepy. The bright moon shouldn't have any resentment towards people. Why does it become full only when people leave? People undergo changes in joys and sorrows, and the moon waxes and wanes. This kind of thing has been difficult to understand since ancient times. I just hope that all the relatives in this world can be safe and healthy, and can enjoy this beautiful moonlight even if they are thousands of miles apart.