Contents in Lu Chai’s ancient poems

Luchai

No one can be seen in the empty mountain, but people can hear their voices. Returning to the deep forest, the light shines on the moss again.

Poetry translation

No one was seen in the empty mountain, only a burst of human voices was heard. The afterglow of the sun returned to the deep forest and shone on the moss in the forest.

"Deer Chai" is a work by Wang Wei, a poet of the Tang Dynasty. This poem describes an inaccessible empty mountain and a forest with towering ancient trees, aiming to create an empty, lonely and deep realm. The first sentence first describes the empty mountain in a positive way, focusing on expressing the emptiness and coldness of the mountain. Immediately after that, the realm suddenly appeared in the second sentence, with a local and temporary "ring" reflecting the overall and long-term emptiness. The third and fourth sentences go from the description of the message in the empty mountain in the previous picture to the reflection in the deep forest, with sounds and colors.

Appreciation

This poem depicts the quiet scenery of the empty mountains and deep forests near Luchai in the evening. The beauty of poetry is that it uses movement to contrast stillness, and parts to contrast the overall situation. It is fresh and natural, without any artificiality. When he started writing, he first wrote about the empty mountain with no human traces, and then he turned around to elicit the sounds of people's voices. When sound is transmitted through the empty valley, the emptiness becomes more apparent; after human words pass by, the emptiness becomes even greater. Finally, I write some reflections of the sunset, which further triggers the feeling of darkness. Generally speaking, when writing about landscapes, it is always inseparable from specific scenery, such as imitating rugged and strange rocks, describing towering ancient trees, or rendering waterfalls and hanging springs. The focus is on the wonder of the scenery. This poem is based on a strange phenomenon: "There are no people in the empty mountain, but you can hear people's voices." There are many layers of rocks, but it seems empty. However, sometimes loud laughter is suddenly heard, but due to the multiple reflections of the echo, it is difficult to determine where the human voice originates. People probably all have similar experiences, and they are quite common. But expressing this complementary way of observing things through vision and hearing in the form of poetry cannot but be said to be a creation. From the perspective of the performance of the poem, it is innovative and unconventional; from the perspective of the recipients of the work, it is so novel and interesting, as if they are immersed in the scene, which arouses positive emotional activities. The first two lines of the poem use straightforward language, with a slight touch of color, and the realm is revealed. The word "empty mountain" at the beginning of the poem refers to "empty mountain" relative to no one. It also indicates that the poet's vision is relatively broad and can be seen unobstructed. If you are in a primitive forest that is hidden from the sky and the sun, you will not get the "empty mountain". "image. From these two words, we can also get a glimpse of the scenery and characteristics of the mountains. The word "ring" in the couplet echoes "empty mountain": only when there are not many obstacles, the sound can reverberate back and forth in the valley, and then it can be said that "the sound of human voice" can be said. Therefore, the surrounding scenery must be sparse. The first two sentences are about tranquility, because the sound conveys the spirit; the last two sentences are about depth, because they are colored by light. The scenery in the mountains will change depending on the day and night, and the wind and rain. This poem chooses the scenery in the evening as the description object. At this time, the setting sun shines back into the depths of the woods, and some of the light falls on the moss. The sky is getting dark, and all kinds of scenery are mottled, with sharp contrast between light and dark. Nearby, the shadows of the lush trees on the ground gradually lengthened; deep in the woods, the darkness made them appear very profound. The best time for this kind of landscape is late summer and early autumn, and it must be a sunny evening, and continuous rain is not acceptable. The first perspective point of the poem is the deep forest. Human senses cannot directly detect the depth of the woods. This poem uses the invisible or imaginary "infinity" and "mystery" to express the feeling of depth. The deepest feeling is only in the late summer and early autumn sunsets. The second perspective point is moss. This scenery is at the bottom of your eyes, and you can observe its shape and distinguish its color. Moss grows in dark and moist places. Its growth is the result of dense trees blocking the sunlight, but it is in the sunset at this moment. These two perspectives are combined and reflect each other, making the poetic meaning complement each other.

This poem creates a deep and bright symbolic realm, showing the author's sudden enlightenment during the deep meditation process. Although there is a Zen feeling in the poem, it does not resort to arguments and reasoning, but is fully immersed in the vivid description of natural scenery. Wang Wei is a poet, painter and musician. This poem reflects the combination of poetry, painting and music. He uses a musician's perception of sound, a painter's grasp of light, and a poet's refinement of language to depict the unique silence and tranquility of the moment when people are talking in the empty valley and the slanting light shines back, which is thought-provoking.