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alone would be insufficient for conveying feelings of nostalgia; other methods were required if only to
stave off repetition. Another common means was through dreams of home or distant places close to the
poet's heart:
溪 流 与 松 风
静 夜 相 飕 飗
别 家 赖 归 梦
28
山 塞 多 离 忧
Flowing creek and pine winds,
Babble and blow together through the still night.
Relying on dreams to return home,
The frontier mountains are full of the sadness of departure!
(“Passing Through Long Mountain for the First Time”, lines 25-26)
愁 里 难 消 日
In sorrow I pass the days with great difficulty,
归 期 尚 隔 年
The date of return is still separated by years.
阳 关 万 里 梦
In dreams of ten thousand li at Yang Pass
29
知 处 杜 陵 田 I know that I am at Duling's fields 30 .
(“Passing Jiuquan I Recall My Villa at Duling”, lines 5-8)
塞 迥 心 常 怯
乡 遥 梦 亦 迷
31
The frontier is at such a great distance my heart
often recoils in fright,
My hometown is so far away that even in dreams I lose
my way.
(“Staying at the West Inn of Iron Gate Pass”, lines 5-6)
乡 路 眇 天 外
32
归 期 如 梦 中
The road home stretches beyond the sky,
The date of return seems like a dream.
(“At the Anxi Guesthouse and Thinking of Chang'an”, lines 13-14)
终 日 见 征 战
All day I see armies set out on campaigns,
recognition for one's service to one's country, feelings of homesickness thickened. Also, see the end of this chapter for
the selection of Cen Shen's poems used throughout the chapter to illustrate the relationship between homesickness and
the frontier landscape of great distance.
28
CSJJZ, p. 73.
29
“Guo Jiuquan yi Duling bieye” 过 酒 泉 忆 杜 陵 别 业 . See CSJJZ, p. 76.
30
Duling 杜 陵 was located southeast on the outskirts of Chang'an.
31
“Su tieguan xi guan” 宿 铁 关 西 馆 . See CSJJZ, p. 81.
32
“Anxi guan zhong xi chang'an” 安 西 馆 中 思 长 安 . See CSJJZ, p. 84.