Looking at Dongting
Liu Yuxi [Tang Dynasty]
The light of the lake and the moon are harmonious, and there is no windshield on the lake surface that has not been polished.
Looking at the green mountains and rivers of Dongting in the distance, there is a green snail in the silver plate.
Translation
The moonlight and water color blend together on Dongting Lake, and the lake surface is calm and calm, like an unpolished bronze mirror.
The water color of Dongting Lake and the moonlight reflect each other, like a green snail held in a silver plate.
Notes
1. Dongting: the name of the lake, located in the northern part of today's Hunan Province.
2. Lake light: the ripples on the lake surface.
3. Two: refers to the lake light and the autumn moon.
4. Harmony: harmony. It means that the color of water and moonlight reflect each other.
5. Tanmian: refers to the lake surface.
6. The mirror is not polished: The mirrors of the ancients were made of copper and polished. Here, it is said that there is no wind on the lake surface, and it is as level as a mirror; it is said that the scenery in the lake is blurry when looking at it from a distance, just like the blurred objects when the mirror surface is not polished.
7. Landscape green: also known as "landscape color".
8. Mountain: refers to Junshan Mountain in Dongting Lake.
9. Silver Plate: Describes the calm and clear surface of Dongting Lake.
10. Green snail: This is used to describe Junshan in Dongting Lake.
Introduction to the work
"Looking at the Dongting" is a poem of seven unique poems written by Liu Yuxi, a litterateur in the Tang Dynasty. This poem describes the beautiful scenery of Dongting Lake under the moonlight on an autumn night, expresses the poet's love and praise for the scenery of Dongting, and shows the poet's magnificent and extraordinary magnanimity and noble and noble feelings. The whole poem chooses the perspective of looking into the distance on a moonlit night, taking in a panoramic view of Dongting, a thousand miles away, and capturing the most representative scenery of lakes and mountains. Through rich imagination and clever metaphors, it creatively reproduces the beautiful scenery of Dongting on paper, showing a superb artistic level. .
Appreciation of the work
The poem describes the beautiful scenery of Dongting Lake under the moonlight on an autumn night. The microwave is quiet, quiet and beautiful, and extremely pleasant. The poet's imagination flew by, and with a fresh style of writing, he vividly described the quiet and peaceful hazy beauty of Dongting Lake, and sketched out a beautiful Dongting landscape.
“The light of the lake and the moon in autumn are harmonious, and there is no windshield on the lake surface that has not been polished.” The first two sentences of this little poem say that the bright moon on the autumn night shines all over the clear lake surface, and the lake surface is calm and windless. , like iron polishing a bronze mirror. The first sentence describes how the clear and empty lake water and the blue light of the plain moon complement each other, just like a jade mirror in Qiongtian. It is an ethereal, ethereal, tranquil and harmonious realm. It shows the harmonious picture of the sky and water being the same color and the jade characters being dust-free. The second sentence describes that there is no wind on the lake, and the misty lake surface is like an unpolished bronze mirror. The vivid metaphor complements the poetic meaning of "the harmony of the lake, autumn and moon".
In the third and fourth sentences, the poet's sight is focused from the overall picture of the vast lake and moonlight to Junshan. "A green snail in a silver plate", the excellence of this sentence is not only reflected in the vigilance of the metaphor, but also the poet's magnificent and extraordinary magnanimity and the poet's noble and unique emotions. In the eyes of the poet, the Dongting of thousands of miles away is nothing more than a mirror in the dressing room and cups and plates on the table. It is very rare to lift a heavy weight and feel it is light, to sit together naturally and without any pretentiousness. To express the relationship between man and nature in such a cordial manner and to describe the scenery of lakes and mountains in such a vast and pure way is a reflection of the poet's character, sentiment and aesthetic taste. There is no spirit of thinking about the eight extremes and absorbing the essence of mustard seeds. There is no embrace of Nirvana, which is full of romantic whims and splendor.
This poem describes the beautiful scenery of Dongting Lake under the moonlight on an autumn night, expresses the poet's love and praise for the scenery of Dongting, and shows the poet's magnificent and extraordinary magnanimity and noble sentiments.
Creative background
"Looking at Dongting" was written in the autumn of 824 AD (the fourth year of Changqing reign of Emperor Mu Zong of the Tang Dynasty) when Liu Yuxi went to Hezhou to serve as governor and passed by Dongting Lake. Liu Yuxi said in the preface of "Seventy Rhymes of Liyang Shushi": "In August of the fourth year of Changqing, I transferred from Kuizhou to Liyang (Hezhou), floated on the Minjiang River, watched Dongting, Lixiakou, and crossed Xunyang. East." Liu Yuxi was demoted to Nanhuang and came to Dongting about six times in the past twenty years. According to records, he visited Dongting. Among them, only this time he was transferred to Hezhou, which was in the autumn. This poem is a vivid record of this trip.
About the author
Liu Yuxi (772-842), named Mengde, was born in Luoyang, Henan (see the catalog of disputed places of birth for details). He was born in Xingyang, Zhengzhou, Henan, and his ancestors were from Zhongshan King Jing Liu Sheng (some say he is a descendant of the Huns) was a minister, writer, and philosopher during the Tang Dynasty. He was known as the "poetry hero".
Liu Yuxi was excellent in poetry and prose, and covered a wide range of subjects. Together with Liu Zongyuan, he was known as "Liu Liu", together with Wei Yingwu and Bai Juyi, he was known as the "Three Heroes", and together with Bai Juyi, he was known as "Liu Bai". Famous works include "Inscription on a Humble Room", "Poem on Bamboo Branches", "Poem on Willow Branches", and "Woyi Alley". Three philosophical works, "On Heaven", discuss the materiality of heaven, analyze the origin of "Destiny Theory", and have materialistic ideas. He is the author of "Collected Works of Liu Mengde" and "Collected Works of Liu Mengde".