Lord Li Duan
English translation and interpretation are being reviewed.
离别自堪悲。
路出寒云外，
人归暮雪时。
少孤为客早，
多难识君迟。
掩泪空相向，
风尘何处期。
English translation
The old pass is thick with withered grass, parting is sorrow enough in itself.
Your road leads out beyond the cold clouds, you go home at the hour of evening snow.
Orphaned young, I was a traveler early, through many troubles, I met you late.
Wiping away tears, I gaze in vain, amid the wind and dust, where shall we meet?
Meaning
The withered wild grass of my native place spreads everywhere, and a parting scene like this is enough in itself to make one sad.
The road you must take stretches out beyond the cold clouds, and when I come back alone I see only the evening snow flying.
Bereaved early in youth, I soon drifted far from home as a stranger; the world is full of troubles, and I regret that I came to know you so late.
Now I can only cover my face and weep, gazing in vain toward the way you have gone; in these troubled times, who knows when we shall meet again?