Offered to Li Xu, Han Yan

When Hun Zhen and the Tibetans met in negotiations, the foreigners betrayed their word and diplomatic secretary Han Yan was killed. Yan had long been a friend of staff officer Li Xu, who suddenly dreamed of Yan with unbound hair over his shoulders, face extremely bloody, consoling him as he had in life by offering up a poem and some further words, after which he moaned sadly and departed. The sense of the further words was: “I’ve been hungry and thirsty for a long time—buy me wine and food and valuable things, for our lives just came to a parting.” Xu followed his words and sacrificed to him. A dark wind suddenly came from the west, whirling around above the offerings, and the fluttering paper money and the food and wine all flew away. This was in 788.

I have a foe among the enemy—
There’s no one who can wipe away the shame.
Everywhere from Qin to Gansu’s end:
A roaming spirit, sobbing to myself.

呈李续
作者：韩弇
〈浑瑊与西蕃会盟，蕃戎背信，掌书记韩弇遇害。弇素与栎杨尉李续友，忽梦弇被发披衣，面目尽血，相劳勉如平生，以一诗呈续，悲吟而别。谓续曰：“吾久饥渴，君为置酒馔钱物，亦平生之分尽矣。”续如言祭之，忽有黑风自西来，旋转筵上，飘卷纸钱及酒食皆飞去。时贞元四年也。〉
我有敌国雠，
无人可为雪。
每至秦陇头，
游魂自呜咽。

The poem is “offered” rather than “presented” because it’s given to someone of higher rank. Hun Jian (736-800) was a Tang general who spent most of his time after An Lushan fighting the Tibetan Empire; if I’m interpreting his Wikipedia bio correctly, the negotiations were in 787. The job titles of the friends are loosely translated, as I don’t have exact equivalents on tap. The paper money is ritual replicas traditionally offered to the dead. Qin is the Shaanxi region.

I’ve never been able to tell whether these sorts of “dark/black winds” are literally dark or figuratively stormy/strong. The former certainly looks better in dramas. At least this one isn’t a “negative” wind.

—L.