[updated September 2022]
Cry For My Young Son Cui Er
哭 崔 儿
掌 珠 一 颗 儿 三 岁
发 雪 千 茎 父 六 旬。
岂 料 汝 先 为 异 物
常 忧 吾 不 见 成 人。
悲 肠 自 断 非 因 剑
喧 眼 加 昏 不 是 尘。
怀 抱 又 空 天 默 默
依 前 重 作 邓 攸 身。
Ku Cui Er
Zhang zhu yi ke er san sui
Fa xue qian jing fu liu xun.
Qi liao ru xian yi wu
Chang you wu bu jian cheng ren.
Bei chang zi duan fei yin jian
Xuan yan jia hun bu shi chen.
Huai bao you kong tian mo mo
Yi qian chong zuo deng you shen.
Cry For My Young Son Cui Er
Like having a pearl in one’s palm for two or three years
At the age of six decades, my head full of snow-white hair.
Did not expect him to die so young
Was constantly worried if I would be able to experience him growing up.
Sad insides naturally torn apart without the use of swords
Sobbing so hard, cannot see through such a flood.
Empty embrace, again heaven too is very silent
Perhaps I am like living the life of Deng You.
Notes:
[Bai Juyi’s son died at the age of three.]
Deng You: Ancient story of a man who was a city mayor in Henan during the Jin Dynasty. When the invading northern nomads arrived, Deng You let them take his nephew as payment, instead of his own son. From then on, he and his wife never had another son.