“Night Book of Dan’er” is a short travel essay, selected from “Dongpo Zhilin”. In the second year of Yuanfu of Emperor Zhezong of Song Dynasty (1099), Su Shi was the deputy governor of Danzhou. On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival, Su Shi was invited by several elderly scholars to visit the Lantern Market. He returned home after having a lot of fun but could not enter the house. He did not think much of it and laughed. This word “laugh” is the key point of our appreciation of this article. What did Su Shi laugh at? He laughed at his own joy of watching lanterns under the moon, laughed at the joy of leaving the house after a night tour, and laughed at the rich people’s livelihood…
《儋耳夜书》是一篇记游短文，文章选自《东坡志林》。宋哲宗元符二年（1099年），苏轼在儋州作儋州别驾。正月十五上元灯节，苏轼应几个老年书生之邀一起游赏灯市，兴尽而归却进不了门，自己不以为若反释然而笑。这一个“笑”字正是我们赏析这篇文章的文眼。苏轼笑什么呢？笑自己月下赏灯之乐，笑夜游兴尽而门之乐，笑憎耳民生殷富……
《儋耳夜书》 苏轼
己卯（公元一零九九年）上元，余在儋州，有老书生数人来过，曰：“良月佳夜，先生能一出乎？”予欣然从之，步城西，入僧舍，历小巷，民夷杂揉，屠酤纷然，归舍已三鼓矣。舍中掩关熟寝，已再鼾矣。放杖而笑，孰为得失。问：“先生何笑？”盖自笑也。然亦笑韩退之钓鱼无得，更欲远去，不知走海者未必得大鱼也。”
A Note Written at Night in Tanchow
Su Shi
This is January 15, 1099, the Festival of Shangyuan. I am living at Tanchow. Several old scholars have come to visit me. They said, “Master, can you come out for a stroll? There is such a beautiful moon and the night is so calm.” Happily I accepted the suggestion and we all went out to the western part of the town and entered a temple. We passed through small alleys filled with the Chinese and the tribesmen. There was quiet a crowd at the wine shops. By the time we returned, it was already midnight, and the servants were snoring in their sleep. Thinking that fortune and adversity were all the same, I laid my cane behind the door and laughed. “What are you laughing at, Master?” the scholars asked. “I was laughing at myself and at Han Yu,” I replied. “Han Yu was once fishing. He could not catch any fish, and thought he could catch them by going to another place. He did not know that by going to the sea, one does not necessarily catch big fish!”
