Bai Juyi
白居易
Bai Juyi (772–846 AD), styled Letian, Xiangshan by literary name, also known as Mr. Zuiyin, was born in Xinzheng, Henan. His ancestral home was in Taiyuan, Shanxi. His great-grandfather moved to Xiagui (now Weinan, Shaanxi). He is a prominent realistic poet of the Tang Dynasty.
白居易（公元772年―864年），字乐天，号香山居士，又号醉吟先生。祖籍山西太原，到其曾祖父时迁居下邽（今陕西渭南），生于河南新郑，是唐朝伟大的现实主义诗人。
Early in his life, Bai Juyi began composing poetry, with his most famous work being "Grass on the Ancient Plain---Farewell to a Friend". By depicting the grass on the ancient plain, this poem expresses the poet’s heartfelt farewell to a friend and his broad-minded attitude towards life. It embodies a simple, easy-to-understand and close-to-life style of writing.
白居易很早便开始创作诗歌，最有名的当属《赋得古原草送别》。这首诗通过对古原野草的描绘，借物抒情，表达了诗人对友人的依依惜别之情和豁达的人生态度，体现了通俗易懂和贴近生活的创作风格。
Grass on the Ancient Plain
— Farewell to a Friend
Wild grasses spread o’er ancient plain;
With spring and fall they come and go.
Fire tries to burn them up in vain;
They rise again when spring winds blow.
Their fragrance overruns the way;
Their green invades the ruined town.
To see my friend going away;
My sorrow grows like grass o’ergrown.
《赋得古原草送别》
离离原上草，一岁一枯荣。野火烧不尽，春风吹又生。
远芳侵古道，晴翠接荒城。又送王孙去，萋萋满别情。
During this period from entering service to being demoted as the magistrate of Jiangzhou, Bai Juyi enjoyed a smooth career, aspiring to contribute to the well-being of the nation. He used poetry to criticize the dark reality of his time, writing numerous satirical poems and proposing the principle of "writing in accordance with the times and composing songs and poems in accordance with the facts". Among the fifty poems in "New Yuefu", the most famous is "The Old Charcoal-Seller," exposing the wrongdoing of the imperial court, ending abruptly at the climax of the conflict, leaving readers deep in contemplation.
从入仕到贬江州司马这段时期，白居易在仕途上一帆风顺，志在“兼济天下”。他利用诗歌的特点来批判黑暗的现实，写了大量的讽喻诗，并提出“文章合为时而著，歌诗合为事而作”的创作原则。《新乐府》五十首中最有名的《卖炭翁》，揭发“宫市”的罪行，在矛盾冲突的高潮中戛然而止，引人深思，扣人心弦。
The Old Charcoal Seller
What does the old man fare?
He cuts the wood in southern hill and fires his ware.
His face is grimed with smoke and streaked with ash and dust,
His temples grizzled and his fingers all turned black.
The money earned by selling charcoal is not just
Enough for food for his mouth and clothing for his back.
Though his coat is thin, he hopes winter will set in,
For cold weather will keep up the charcoal’s good price.
At night a foot of snow falls outside city walls;
At dawn his charcoal cart crushes ruts in the ice.
The sun is high, the ox tired out and hungry he;
Outside the southern gate in snow and slush they rest.
Two riders canter up. Alas! Who can they be?
Two palace heralds in the yellow jackets dressed.
Decree in hand, which is imperial order, one says;
They turn the cart about and at the ox they shout.
A cartload of charcoal a thousand catties weighs;
They drive the cart away. What dare the old man say?
Ten feet of silk and twenty feet of gauze deep red,
That is the payment they fasten to the ox’s head.
《卖炭翁》
卖炭翁，伐薪烧炭南山中。
满面尘灰烟火色，两鬓苍苍十指黑。
卖炭得钱何所营？身上衣裳口中食。
可怜身上衣正单，心忧炭贱愿天寒。
夜来城外一尺雪，晓驾炭车辗冰辙。
牛困人饥日已高，市南门外泥中歇。
翩翩两骑来是谁？黄衣使者白衫儿。
手把文书口称敕，回车叱牛牵向北。
一车炭，千余斤，宫使驱将惜不得。
半匹红纱一丈绫，系向牛头充炭直。
From his demotion to Jiangzhou to his passing, Bai Juyi experienced setbacks in his official career and gradually turned towards a more self-focused path. During this period, he wrote a significant number of “sentimental poems” with the most notable being the narrative poems "Everlasting Regret" and " Song of a Pipa Player." Lines like "On high, we’d be two birds flying wing to wing; on earth, two trees with branches twined from spring to spring" and "Both of us in misfortune go from shore to shore. Meeting now, need we have known each other before?" remain resonant and emotion-evoking today. He also composed many "leisure poems" , which recorded daily life, imbued with a sense of life and its nuances, such as "An Invitation", which used simple and warm language to portray the genuine friendship between the poet and his friend.
从贬江州到逝世，白居易在官场中受了挫折，逐渐转向“独善其身”。这一时期他写了大量的“感伤诗”，最有名的是长篇叙事诗《长恨歌》和《琵琶行》，“在天愿作比翼鸟，在地愿为连理枝”“同是天涯沦落人，相逢何必曾相识”等诗句在今天依旧脍炙人口，能够引起强烈的共鸣。他也写了不少“闲适诗”记录日常生活，蕴含生活气息，充满了生活的情调。如《问刘十九》用朴素亲切的语言描写了诗人与朋友之间真挚的友谊。
An Invitation
My new brew gives green glow;
My red clay stove flames up.
At dusk it threatens snow.
Won’t you come for a cup?
问刘十九
绿蚁新醅酒，红泥小火炉。
晚来天欲雪，能饮一杯无？
Bai Juyi was one of the most prolific poets of the Tang Dynasty and a proponent of the New Yuefu movement. His poetry covered a wide range of themes, characterized by plain and accessible language, concise expression, vivid imagery, and sincere emotions. The unique style of his poetry earned him the titles of “Poetry Magician” and “Poetry King”.
白居易是唐朝最高产的诗人之一，是新乐府运动的倡导者。其诗歌题材广泛，语言平易通俗，以文字简练、形象鲜明、情感真挚而自成一格，有“诗魔”和“诗王”之称。
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