“Ruan Lang Gui” is a poem written by Qin Guan, a poet of the Northern Song Dynasty. The first part of the poem describes waking up from a dream on a cold night, feeling only the deep courtyard, hearing the music of the borderland coming from the gate of the city tower, and the long and clear night has passed. It reflects the bleak predicament of being exiled. The second part describes the loneliness and resentment of wandering in a foreign land. The fact that there was no letter from relatives on New Year’s Eve is exactly what caused the longing in the dream and the sadness of the broken dream. The end of the poem truly describes the author’s loneliness in the exile, with no relatives and unbearable loneliness. The whole poem is exquisitely written, with appropriate allusions, and the scenery, emotions, simple words, and plain words are subtle and clever, with profound meaning.
《阮郎归》是北宋词人秦观所写的一首词。该词上片写寒夜梦醒，只感觉庭院深深，听到城楼门头传来阵阵边地乐曲，漫长的清夜又过去了。反映了羁居贬所的凄凉困境。下片就梦断写异乡飘泊的孤独幽怨。除夕时节还没有见亲人来信，正是引发梦中相思及梦断悲苦的原因。词尾真实地写出作者身在贬所，举目无亲，孤寂难耐的况味。全词笔触精致，用典贴切，景语、情语、浅语、淡语，含蓄巧妙，意味深远。
秦观·《阮郎归》
湘天风雨破寒初，
深沈庭院虚。
丽谯吹罢小单于，
迢迢清夜徂。
乡梦断，
旅魂孤，
峥嵘岁又除。
衡阳犹有雁传书，
郴阳和雁无。
Return of the Lover
Qin Guan
The cold of Southern sky dissolves into wind and rain;
The courtyard’s deep in vain.
From the watchtowers wafts the young prince’s song.
How the dreary night appears long!
I wake from dreams
Of native streams;
All I feel only
My soul so lonely.
After the vicissitude
I pass the New Year’s Eve in solitude.
The wild geese might bring letters to a Southern town,
But there’s no wild geese farther down.
