It comes from "Meeting Old Friends from Liangzhou on the Huai River", which is a work by Wei Yingwu, a poet of the Tang Dynasty.

The author of this poem was quite emotional about the joy of reuniting his old friend from Liangzhou after ten years of absence by the Huaihe River. The first couplet summarizes the previous friendship; the chin couplet encapsulates the complicated worldly affairs and human relationships of ten years apart; the neck couplet and the last couplet describe the scene of reunion. The main body of the poem is about gatherings, drinking and laughter, as well as about the environment, appearance and thoughts. The whole poem has a detailed structure, twists and turns of emotion, prominent key points, and long-lasting charm.

The whole poem is as follows:

I was a guest in Jianghan, and I returned drunk every time I met. After the floating clouds parted, the water flowed for ten years.

The laughter and affection are as old as before, and the hair on the temples has become stained. Why don't you go back? There are autumn mountains on the Huai River.

The translation is as follows:

We had been guests together in Jianghan, and every time we met, we always returned drunk. After parting, things drift like floating clouds, and the years pass by like running water.

Although we met today with the same laughter as before, it is a pity that we are already old and stained. Why don't I go back with my old friends? Because there are beautiful autumn mountains on Huaihe River.

The notes are as follows:

Huaishang: Beside the Huai River. Liangzhou: refers to Xingyuan Prefecture (now Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province).

Flowing water: It refers to the passage of time, and coincides with Jianghan.

There are Autumn Mountains on the Huaihe River: It says that the scenery on the Huaihe River is lovely, and it means "not going back" by stretching out one's feet.

Extended information:

The first couplet of the poem summarizes the previous friendship; the neck couplet and the last couplet seize the scene of reunion after a long separation as the focus and subject, describe it in detail, and write out today's story. The gatherings, drinking and laughter of the people, describe the environment, appearance and thoughts in a very detailed way. The couplet "After the floating clouds parted, the flowing water lasted for ten years" has the longest performance. The space for expression is the widest, and the personnel and affairs represented are the most complicated.

Here, only ten words are used to express all this. These two sentences use flowing pairs, which are natural and smooth, concise and summarized. The vicissitudes of life after farewell and the thousands of customs, I don't know where to start. The poet only expressed it by naming "floating clouds" and "flowing water" before "one farewell" and "ten years". The artistic conception is ethereal, and it's really "sparse and carefree".

"Floating clouds" and "flowing water" allude to the poetic farewell of Su Wu and Li Ling River in the Han Dynasty. Li Ling's "Three Poems with Su Wu" has "Looking up at the floating clouds, they are about to overtake each other. Once the storm is lost, everyone is in a corner of the sky." Su Wu's "Four Poems" has "Looking down at the flow of Jianghan, looking up at the floating clouds", which is often followed by "Floating clouds" means wandering and changing, while "flowing water" means that the years are flowing and the years are fleeting.

The "floating clouds" and "flowing water" in the poem are not realistic, but are virtual scenery. They are used to express the poet's subjective feelings and express the sadness of ten years apart. This shows the poet's tailoring skills.

Baidu Encyclopedia - A happy meeting with an old friend from Liangzhou in Huaishang