Heart-touching friendship that travels distance

Living in the capital of Xian, the author was relegated to Jiangzhou Sima or a grand official on charges of reporting to the emperor insolently despite not being a Gangwan official who monitors behaviors of the ruler. Bai Ju-yi indulged himself in Yuan Zhen’s poetry on the boat southward until the lamplight dimmed slowly. It may be only natural that he grabbed his best friend’s book as two of them clicked each other so perfectly that they exchanged their thoughts and opinions on why they weave poetry and phrases and what can be done to improve on their capabilities. Sharp pain in his eyes was not able to stop him from pulling an all-nighter to peruse the reading material until early morning. He could not fall asleep easily even after closing the book. He was still up in the middle of the dark with his ears open to the splashing waves on the sides of the boat as if he were reminded of pieces of Yuan Zhen’s sentences to appreciate them once again or consumed by deep regrets about his relegation.”

Here is another reason Bai Ju-yi was attracted to his best friend’s poems. He must have related to Yuan Zhen’s feelings when the friend was relegated to Sichuan from Xian several months before him. As if his bestie were telepathic, Yuan Zhen authored a poem after hearing that Bai Ju-yi was kicked out of the capital. “Hearing about your relegation in the middle of the night under the weakly flickering lamplight. Sickening to death and raising out of surprise near the brutally cold window with rainstorm dashing inside in the dark.” One friend was disturbed by the splashes of the waves on the boat while the other was distraught by the rainstorm blowing through the window. Although they spoke to themselves in a murmur far away from each other, their hearts defied a physical distance to reach out to each other as if the two friends were chatting around face to face. A sense of reciprocation bonded their hearts together so closely that their deep friendship could heal the wounds of each of them despite a long distance.