Reading 'ten years — life and death both lost in vastness,' a pang of sorrow went through me.
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history
The opening line of Su Shi's (苏轼) ci 《江城子·乙卯正月二十日夜记梦》, written in 1075 on the tenth anniversary of his first wife Wang Fu's (王弗) death: 十年生死两茫茫，不思量，自难忘。千里孤坟，无处话凄凉。 — 'Ten years — living and dead both lost in vastness. I try not to dwell on it, yet cannot forget. Her solitary grave a thousand li away — nowhere to voice my desolation.' Often called the most moving elegy in the ci tradition.
usage
One of the most quoted lines on bereavement in Chinese. 茫茫 = vast, vague, indistinct. Used in obituaries, anniversaries, and literary allusions to long grief.
