From He Zhizhang's "Two Odd Letters on Returning to Hometown"
Two Odd Letters on Returning to Hometown
Part One
Shao Xiaoli When the eldest son returns home, his local pronunciation remains unchanged and his hair on his temples fades.
Children don’t recognize each other when they see each other, and they laugh and ask where the guest is from.
Vernacular translation
I left my hometown when I was young and did not come back until I was old. Although my local accent has not changed, the hair on my temples has turned gray.
When the children in my hometown saw me, no one recognized me. They smiled and asked me: Where did this guest come from?
Creative background
He Zhizhang resigned from his official position in the court during the third year of Emperor Xuanzong's Tianbao reign (744), retired and returned to his hometown of Yongxing, Yuezhou (today's Xiaoshan, Hangzhou, Zhejiang). He was already eighty Six years old. It has been more than fifty years since he left his hometown. Life is easy to grow old and the world is full of vicissitudes. He felt infinite emotions in his heart, so he wrote this set of poems.
Extended information
He Zhizhang (about 659-about 744), a poet and calligrapher in the Tang Dynasty. His courtesy name was Jizhen. In his later years, he called himself "Siming Kuangke" and "Secretary and Supervisor". He was a native of Yongxing, Yuezhou (now Xiaoshan District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang). When he was young, he was famous for his poetry. In the first year of Zhengsheng (695), Wu Zetian became the number one scholar in Yiwei, and was awarded Doctorate of the Four Gates of Guozi and moved to Doctorate of Taichang. Later, he served successively as Minister of Rites, Secretary and Supervisor, and Guest of the Crown Prince.
He Zhizhang was an open-minded and uninhibited person, a good drinker, and was known as a "clear talker", especially in his later years. He retired and returned to his hometown at the age of 86, and died soon after. Together with Zhang Ruoxu, Zhang Xu, and Bao Rong, they are called the "Four Scholars in Wuzhong"; together with Li Bai and Li Shizhi, they are called the "Eight Immortals in Drinking"; and together with Chen Zi'ang, Lu Zangyong, Song Zhiwen, Wang Shi, Bi Gou, Li Bai, and Meng Haoran , Wang Wei, Sima Chengzhen and others are called the "Ten Friends of the Immortal Sect".
His poems are famous for their quatrains. In addition to the music for worshiping gods and poems composed in response to his wishes, his works depicting scenes and expressing feelings are unique in style, fresh and unrestrained. Among them, "Ode to the Willows" and "Returning to the Hometown" and other works are popular and will last through the ages. Recited. Most of his works are lost, but "Complete Poems of the Tang Dynasty" contains 19 of his poems.
Reference material: Baidu Encyclopedia: "Returning to My Hometown"