The explanation and annotation of the ancient poem Climbing the Stork Tower are as follows:
Original text:
Climbing the Stork Tower
Wang Zhihuan? [Tang Dynasty]
The sun sets over the mountains and the Yellow River flows into the sea.
If you want to see a thousand miles away, take it to the next level.
Translation:
Standing on a high building, I saw the setting sun slowly setting against the mountains, and the mighty Yellow River rushing toward the sea.
If you want to see the scenery thousands of miles away, you have to climb to a higher floor.
Notes:
Stork (guàn) Que (què) Tower: The original site is in Yongji City, Shanxi Province, facing Zhongtiao Mountain in front and the Yellow River below. Legend has it that storks often stop here, hence the name.
Day: the sun.
Yi: rely on.
Extinction: disappear. This sentence means that the sun sets against the mountains.
Desire: the desire to get something or achieve a certain goal, but it also means hope and want.
Exhaust: to reach the extreme.
Clear sight: broad vision.
Update: Again.
This poem is what the Japanese monk Kukai said in "Bunjing Mifu Lun", "the scene enters the realm of reason". Some people say that reasoning is taboo in poetry. This should only mean that poetry should not reason rigidly, boringly, or abstractly, rather than that philosophy cannot be revealed and promoted in poetry. Like this poem, the truth is blended with the scenery and emotions so seamlessly that the reader does not feel that it is reasoning, but that the truth is within it. This is an example of using image thinking to show the philosophy of life based on the characteristics of poetry.
The poem seems to describe the process of climbing the stairs in a straightforward manner, but it has far-reaching implications and is inviting to explore. Here is the poet's enterprising spirit and far-sighted mind, and also expresses the philosophy that one must stand tall to see far.