Original text of "Jiangnan Meets Li Guinian":
It is common in King Qi's house, and Cui Jiutang heard it several times. It is the beautiful scenery in the south of the Yangtze River, and you will meet again when the flowers are falling. Translation and annotation of "Jiangnan Meets Li Guinian"
Translation I often saw your performances in King Qi's residence; I also appreciated your art many times in front of Cui Jiutang. I didn't expect that in this beautiful Jiangnan, during the flower-falling season, I would meet an old acquaintance like you by chance.
Notes 1. Li Guinian: A famous musician during the Kaiyuan and Tianbao years of the Tang Dynasty, he was good at singing. He became famous because he was favored by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty. After the "An-Shi Rebellion", Li Guinian lived in the south of the Yangtze River and made a living as an entertainer. 2. King Qi: The younger brother of Emperor Xuanzong Li Longji of the Tang Dynasty, his name was Li Fan. He was famous for his love of learning and talent, and was good at music and music. 3. Ordinary: often. 4. Cui Jiu: Cui Di, ranked ninth among the brothers, was the younger brother of Zhongshu Ling Cui Shi. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong, he served as the eunuch of the palace and was favored by Emperor Xuanzong. The surname Cui was a popular surname in the family at that time, which showed that Li Guinian was originally appreciated. 5. Jiangnan: This refers to the area around present-day Hunan Province. 6. Flower falling season: late spring, usually refers to March of the lunar calendar. Falling flowers have many meanings, including the aging of people and the decay and chaos of society. 7. Jun: refers to Li Guinian. The creative background of Li Guinian in Jiangnan
This poem was probably written in 770 AD (the fifth year of the Dali calendar) when Du Fu was in Changsha. After the Anshi Rebellion, Du Fu drifted to the south of the Yangtze River and reunited with the exiled court singer Li Guinian. He recalled the scenes of frequent meetings and listening to songs at the residences of King Qi and Cui Jiu, and he wrote this poem with emotion. Appreciation of Li Guinian in the South of the Yangtze River
The poem is sentimental about the harsh conditions of the world. Li Guinian was a famous singer in the early years of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. He often sang in aristocratic houses. Du Fu was very talented when he was young. He often visited the court of Yuqi King Li Longfan and Zhongshu Supervisor Cui Di, and was able to appreciate Li Guinian's singing art. The first two sentences of the poem recall the past contact with Li Guinian, expressing the poet's nostalgia for the prosperity of the early Kaiyuan years; the last two sentences express his emotion about the decline of the country and the displacement of artists. Only four sentences summarize the vicissitudes of the times and the great changes in life during the entire Kaiyuan period (Note: the Kaiyuan period is from 713 to 741). The language is extremely plain, but the connotation is infinitely rich.
Li Guinian was a famous singer who was "specially responsible for Gu Yu" during the Kaiyuan period. Du Fu first met Li Guinian when he was a boy who "opened his mouth to chant the phoenix" and coincided with the so-called "Heyday of the Kaiyuan Dynasty". At that time, the princes and nobles generally loved literature and art. Because of his early talent, Du Fu was accepted by Qi Wang Li Longfan and Zhongshu Supervisor Cui Di, and he was able to appreciate Li Guinian's singing in their mansions. An outstanding artist is not only a product of a specific era, but also often a symbol and symbol of a specific era. In Du Fu's mind, Li Guinian was closely connected with the prosperous Kaiyuan era and his own romantic teenage life. Decades later, they met again in Jiangnan. At this time, the Tang Dynasty, which had suffered eight years of turmoil, had fallen from the peak of prosperity and fell into many conflicts. Du Fu wandered to Tanzhou, where "the cloth was wrapped with withered bones, and it was painful to run around without warmth." His later life was extremely desolate; Li Guinian also lived in the south of the Yangtze River. "On good days and beautiful scenery, he sang for many people. When everyone heard it, everyone would stop crying and drink" ("Minghuang Miscellaneous Records"). This kind of meeting would naturally easily trigger the infinite vicissitudes of life that had been brewing in Du Fu's chest.
"It is a common sight in Prince Qi's house, and I heard it several times before Cui Jiutang." Although the poet is reminiscing about his past contact with Li Guinian, what he reveals is his deep nostalgia for the "heyday of Kaiyuan". These two subtitles seem to be very light, but the feelings they contain are deep and solemn. "Prince Qi's residence" and "in front of Cui Jiutang" seem to be spoken casually, but in the minds of those involved, these two places where literary and artistic celebrities often gathered were the places where the rich and colorful spiritual culture of the Kaiyuan period was concentrated. The name is enough to evoke the poet's fond memories of the "heyday". At that time, it was "common" and not difficult for poets to come and go and meet artistic stars like Li Guinian "a few times". Looking back many years later, it was simply an unattainable dream. The emotion contained here about the separation between heaven and earth can only be appreciated by readers by combining the next two sentences. The two lines of poems, repeated and chanted, reveal the poet's infinite attachment to the heyday of Kaiyuan, as if to prolong the aftertaste.
Dream-like memories cannot change the reality in front of you after all. "It's the beautiful scenery in the south of the Yangtze River, and we meet you again when the flowers are falling.
"The beautiful Jiangnan, in the era of peace, was originally a place that poets longed for for a pleasant trip. When the poet is truly immersed in this scene, what he faces is the "season of falling flowers" with eyes full of withered flowers and wandering artists with white heads. "The Season of Falling Flowers" is like a calligraphy of a scene, and it also seems to have a different meaning, and the interest is placed intentionally or unintentionally. These four words are a metaphor for the decline of the world, the turmoil of society, and the poet's decline and wandering. However, the poet did not deliberately set up metaphors at all, and this writing method seems particularly muddy. In addition, the two function words "exactly" and "you" in the two sentences change and fall, and there is infinite emotion hidden between the lines. The beautiful scenery of Jiangnan is a powerful contrast to the chaos of the times and the sinking life experience. An old singer and an old poet reunited during their wanderings. The scenery of falling flowers and flowing water, dotted with two haggard old men, became a typical picture of the vicissitudes of the times. It ruthlessly confirmed that the "Kaiyuan Heyday" had become a historical relic. It was an earth-shaking turmoil that reduced people like Du Fu and Li Guinian who had experienced the prosperous times to a miserable state. The emotion is very deep, but the poet ended sadly when he wrote, "When the flowers fall, I meet you again." There is deep emotion and painful sorrow in the silence. In this way, "it's just the beginning but ends at the end." I don't even want to say more, which seems extremely implicit. Shen Deqian in the Qing Dynasty commented on this poem: "The meaning has not been stated, and the case has not been resolved." The poet's "unstated" meaning is not difficult to understand for Li Guinian, who had similar experiences; for later generations of readers who are good at knowing people and commenting on the world, It’s not difficult to grasp either. Like what Li Guinian sang in "The Palace of Eternal Life: Tanci", "The clear songs were in the sky at that time, and the drums are playing along the streets today", "I can't sing all the dreams of rise and fall, I can't play all the sad sighs, my eyes are full of desolation," etc., even though they are sung repeatedly Sigh, the meaning is not more than that of Du Fu's poem, but it is very much like the playwright extracted it from Du Fu's poem.
Four lines of poems, from the "hearing" song in Prince Qi's house and in front of Cui Jiutang, to the "meeting" again in Luohua Jiangnan, "hearing" and "meeting" connect the era of forty years Vicissitudes of life, great changes in life. Although there is not a single line in the poem that directly touches on life and life, the poet's recollections and lamentations show the shadow of the great turmoil that brought havoc to the material wealth and cultural prosperity of Tang Dynasty society, as well as the consequences it caused to people. Huge disaster and trauma. It can be said that "the chaos of the world's destiny, the rise and fall of the Chinese years, and the desolation and wandering of each other are all included in it" (Sun Zhu's comment). Just like there is no setting on the stage of an old opera, the audience can imagine a very broad spatial background and event process through the actors' singing performances; and just like in novels, an era is often reflected through the fate of a person. The successful creation of this poem shows that among great poets with a high degree of artistic generalization and rich life experience, a short genre such as quatrains can have a large capacity, and when expressing such rich content, it can be light and smooth. A traceless artistic realm. Historical evaluation of Li Guinian in Jiangnan
This popular seven-character quatrain is the swan song of Du Fu's creative career in his later years. It has been praised by many people in the past. For example, Shao Changheng in the Qing Dynasty commented: "The seven-character quatrain is the highlight of the book. "The Poems of the Tang and Song Dynasties" also said that this poem's "romantic words are beyond the words and words, which can be compared to Bai Juyi's "Pipa Xing"... This poem is unique in the Qing Dynasty." Dai Huangsheng commented in "Du Shi Shuo": "The feeling of ups and downs in the past and present is depressing beyond words. The charm is in the lines, and the emotion is in the words. Even when Long Biao (Wang Changling) and Feng Feng (Li Bai) wrote, There is nothing wrong with it. I know that this style cannot be correct, and I am disdainful of it. If you have Mu Gong's seven-character quatrains, you can also use this to explain the ridicule." Poetic works: Poems written by Li Guinian in Jiangnan. : Classification of Du Fu's poems in the Tang Dynasty: Three Hundred Tang Poems, Junior High School Ancient Poems, Sentiment, and Nostalgia