Written on Returning Home

I left home young and returned old, my local accent unchanged though my temples have grayed. Children see me but don't recognize me, smiling they ask from where this stranger came.

I left home young, returned old and gray, my accent unchanged though my hair's turned away. The children see me but know not my face, laughing, they ask, 'From where comes this old stranger to our place?'

He Zhizhang wrote this famous poem at age 86 after retiring and returning to his hometown after decades in the capital serving as an official. The poem captures the universal experience of returning home after a long absence—the place remains the same, yet everything has changed. The children's innocent question, 'Where do you come from, stranger?' crystallizes the tragedy of time: even in one's hometown, one can become a foreigner. This theme resonates with anyone who has experienced migration, displacement, or the passage of time.