Author: Wang Changling Dynasty: Tang Genre: Seven-Character Quatrains
I entered Wu at night in the cold rain,
I saw off my guest Chu Shangu in the bright light.
Relatives and friends in Luoyang ask each other,
A heart of ice is in a jade pot.
[Edit this paragraph] Explanation of poetry
The misty misty rain shrouds the land of Wu in the night, and is connected with the vast river. I will send you off at dawn, But I want to stay alone, like this lonely Chushan. If relatives and friends in Luoyang ask about my situation, please tell them that my heart is like crystal clear ice, pure and honest, stored in a jade pot.
[Edit this paragraph] Notes
1. Furong Tower: The original site is in the northwest of Zhenjiang City, Jiangsu Province.
2. Xin Jian: a friend of the poet.
3. Wu: The state of Wu during the Three Kingdoms period was located in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, so this area was called Wu.
4. Pingming: early morning.
5. Chu Mountain: The Chu State in the Spring and Autumn Period was located in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, so the mountains in this area were called Chu Mountain.
6. A piece of ice in a jade pot: ice in a jade pot, a metaphor for a person’s integrity. Bing Xin: a metaphor for the purity of heart.
[Edit this paragraph] Rhyme Translation
The misty misty rain spreads all over the Wudi River and the sky all night long;
Send you off in the morning, and I will be alone in Chushan with infinite sadness. !
Friends, if my relatives and friends in Luoyang ask about me;
Just say that I am still a jade pot with a heart of ice and stick to my faith!
[Edit this paragraph] English translation
AT HIBISCUS INN
PARTING WITH XIN JIAN
Wang Changling
With this cold night-rain hiding the river, you have come into Wu.
In the level dawn, all alone, you will be starting for the mountains of Chu.
Answer , if they ask of me at Luoyang:
"One-hearted as ice in a crystal vase.
[Edit this paragraph] Writing background
This song The poem was written approximately after the 29th year of Kaiyuan. At that time, Wang Changling left Beijing to serve as the prime minister in Jiangning (now Nanjing City). Xin Jian was his friend. This time he planned to cross the river from Runzhou and go north to Luoyang. He went from Jiangning to Runzhou, and then broke up here. There are two original titles of this poem. This one describes the scene of parting by the river the next morning. The other one is "The autumn sea is dark in the south of Danyang City." Chuyun is deep in the north of Danyang City. Don't get drunk when seeing off guests in a high-rise building. The moonlit heart of the cold river is lonely. "It talks about the scene when the poet bid farewell to Xin Jian in Furong Tower the night before.
[Edit this paragraph] Introduction to the author
Wang Changling (690-756), also known as Shaobo, was born in Beijing. Zhaowannian (now part of Xi'an City). He was a famous frontier poet in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. He was hailed as the "Sage of Seven Masters" by later generations. His family was relatively poor. In the 15th year of Kaiyuan, he was awarded the title of Secretary of the Provincial School and was later awarded the title of Si. Shuiwei later moved to Jiangning Cheng. He was banished to the wilderness twice in his life: once in the autumn of the 25th year of Kaiyuan, he was convicted and banished to Lingnan; " was demoted to Long Biaowei. After the Anshi Rebellion broke out, he fled to the Jianghuai area and was killed by Lu Qiuxiao, the governor of Haozhou. There is "Wang Changling Collection".
Wang Changling was a famous figure in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. He was a poet. He had friends with almost all famous poets at that time. Meng Haoran, Li Bai, Cen Shen, Chang Jian, etc. all had poems written by him.
Yin Fan's "Heyue Yingling Collection" regarded him as a representative of "character" and praised his poems as "Zhongxing's masterpieces", and the number of poems selected was the highest in the entire collection. All these show his status in the poetry world.
Wang Changling's poems mostly focus on three categories of themes, namely, frontier fortress, boudoir, palace resentment, and farewell.
[Edit this paragraph] Appreciation
This is a farewell poem. The first sentence begins with the autumn rain last night, setting a desolate atmosphere for farewell. The word "Ping Ming" in the second sentence indicates the time to see off guests; "Chu Shan Gu" not only describes the friend's whereabouts, but also implies his own mood when seeing off guests. Three or four sentences, written about myself, are still consistent with the meaning of farewell. Because Xin Jian is the poet's hometown, when Xin Jian returns to his hometown, his relatives and friends must ask about the poet's situation. Therefore, when the poet bid farewell to Xin Jian, he specially asked him: "If relatives and friends in my hometown ask about my current situation, just say, my A person is like a piece of crystal clear ice, packed in a pure white jade pot. "It shows that he will not change his pure and pure integrity just because of being demoted. The idea is novel, and the grievances and resentments are hidden.
"A piece of ice heart in a jade pot" is a poetic idea, but people have always believed that "jade pot" and "ice heart" are the same, referring to a person's good moral character, which is not consistent with reality. "Jade pot" has multiple meanings. It can refer to a wine pot, the moon, a lamp, a hourglass, etc. Interpreting "jade pot" as a wine pot is not only a joke when changing cups, but also very consistent with Wang Changling's mentality at the time. The whole poem is harmonious and melancholy, and it adopts a question-and-answer format, which is unique.
"The cold rain comes into Wu at night", and the misty misty rain envelopes the rivers and sky in Wu, weaving an endless web of sorrow. The night rain adds to the bleak autumn mood and also exaggerates the gloomy atmosphere of parting. The chill not only filled the mist and rain across the river, but also penetrated into the hearts of the two Li people. The characters "lian" and "ru" describe the steady and continuous rain. The movement of the river rain coming quietly can be clearly perceived. It is also conceivable that the poet stayed up all night because of his separation.
However, doesn’t this picture of a night rain in Wujiang, where water and sky are connected and vast and confusing, also show an extremely lofty and magnificent realm? Mid-late Tang poetry and graceful Song poetry often describe the sound of rain on trivial objects such as sycamores under the windows, iron horses in front of the eaves, and residual lotuses in the pond. However, Wang Changling did not describe the details of how to sense the coming autumn rain. He only described the sounds of hearing and vision. And imagination summarizes it as the rain flowing from the river to Wu, and uses large areas of light ink to dye the paper full of mist and rain, which sets off the broad artistic conception of "seeing off guests in Chushan at ordinary times" with great vigor.
In the early morning, the sky was already bright, and Xin Jian was about to board the boat and return north. The poet looked at the distant mountains in the north of the Yangtze River, thinking that pedestrians would soon disappear outside Chu Mountain, and the feeling of loneliness arose spontaneously. On the vast river surface, of course, it is not just the isolated Chu Mountain that enters the poet's field of vision. The mighty river water is the most likely to evoke the association of feelings like water, and the Tang Dynasty people got countless famous sentences from this.
However, Wang Changling did not place her sorrow on the river that was leaving with her friends, but focused on the Chu Mountain that stood in the vast plains. Because friends can reunite with their relatives and friends when they return to Luoyang, but the poets who stayed in Wu can only stand like this lonely Chu Mountain, standing by the river and watching the water pass by. The word "solitary" is like a lead of emotion, which naturally leads to the last two parting words: "Friends and relatives in Luoyang are like asking each other, and a heart of ice is in the jade pot." The poet holds the jade pot from the flawless and clear sky. He expresses his deep affection for his relatives and friends in Luoyang better than any words of lovesickness by showing his bright and pure heart of ice to comfort his friends.
[Edit this paragraph] Brief comment
This is a farewell poem. The concept of the poem is novel, downplaying the feelings of separation from friends, and rewriting one's own noble character. The first two sentences of the vast river rain and the lonely Chushan Mountain express the loneliness of the farewell; the last two sentences compare themselves to curling to express their cheerful mind and strong character. The whole poem is inspired by the scenery, embodies the feelings in the scenery, is implicit and has endless charm.
The vast river rain and the lonely Chu Mountain in this poem not only highlight the poet's desolate and lonely feeling when bidding farewell, but also show the poet's cheerful mind and strong character.
The solitary mountain standing in the river and the sky and the image of Bing Xin placed in the jade pot form a kind of intentional or unintentional echo, which naturally reminds people of the poet's lonely, proud, pure and pure image, which makes the exquisite conception and profound elegance The intention melts into a clear and clear artistic conception, so it is natural and pure, leaving no trace, subtle and subtle, with endless aftertaste.
[Edit this paragraph] Voiceover
As early as the Six Dynasties, Liu and Song Dynasties, the poet Bao Zhao used "as clear as jade kettle ice" and "Dai Baitou Yin" to describe noble innocence. character. Since Kaiyuan Prime Minister Yao Chong wrote "The Curling Commandment", poets in the prosperous Tang Dynasty such as Wang Wei, Cui Hao, Li Bai, etc. have used curling to encourage themselves and praise the character of being upright and clear inside and outside. The message Wang Changling asked Xin Jian to bring to his relatives and friends in Luoyang was not the usual peace message, but conveyed his belief that he was still pure and pure and upheld his integrity, which was very meaningful.
According to "The Biography of Talented Scholars of the Tang Dynasty" and "Collection of Heroes of Heyue", Wang Changling was demoted to Lingnan in the 27th year of Kaiyuan because he was not strict with trivial matters, "slanderous discussions boiled up, and the two fled to the wilderness". Once, after returning from Lingnan, he was appointed as Jiang Ningcheng. A few years later, he was demoted again to Longbiao, which was further away. It can be seen that at that time, he was in a harsh environment that was ruined by everyone.
The poet here refers to himself as a crystal-clear jade pot with a heart of ice, which is based on the true understanding and mutual trust between him and his fellow poets and friends in Luoyang. This is by no means a confession to wash away the slander, but a contempt. Defamation of one's own reputation. Therefore, the poet took out a crystal clear ice heart from the flawless jade pot to comfort his friends. This can express his deep love for his relatives and friends in Luoyang better than any words of lovesickness