Leyouyuan ①
Li Shangyin
Xiang Wan felt unwell ②,
drove to Guyuan.
The sunset is infinitely good,
It’s just near dusk.
[Note]
① Leyouyuan: In the south of Chang'an (today's Xi'an), it was the highest land in Chang'an City in the Tang Dynasty. Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty established Leyou Temple, also known as Leyou Garden and Leyou Yuan. Climb it to see the city of Chang'an. Leyou was originally part of Yichun Garden in the Qin Dynasty and got its name in the early Western Han Dynasty. "Book of Han: Chronicles of Emperor Xuan" records that "in the third year of Shenjue's reign, he started to enjoy the garden." In other words, Leyou's original name was "Leyou Garden". The first queen of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, Xu, died after giving birth and was buried here. Because "Yuan" and "Yuan" are homophonic, Leyou Garden was passed down as "Leyou Yuan" . There is a record of this in "Guanzhong Chronicles": "Emperor Xu was buried in Leyouli, Chang'an County, and a temple was built in the north of Qujiang Pond. It was called Leyou Temple, and it was named after Yuan ("Chang'an Chronicles" mistakenly used the word "burial")."
According to Ge Hong's "Miscellaneous Notes of Xijing", "There are rose trees growing on their own in Leyou, and there are many alfalfa under the trees", and "the wind is blowing in them, and the flowers are solemn and solemn, and the sun shines on the flowers, which are lustrous", so it is named alfalfa. "Huaifeng" was also called "Guangfeng" or "Lianzhicao" by people at that time. It can be seen that roses and alfalfa are distinctive flowers and plants in Leyouyuan. Until the turn of the middle and late Tang Dynasty, Leyouyuan was still a good place for people in the capital to visit. At the same time, because of its high location and easy sightseeing, literati often came here to write poems and express their feelings. The poets of the Tang Dynasty left nearly a hundred pearl quatrains in Leyouyuan, which have always been praised by people. The poet Li Shangyin is one of them.
When Li Shangyin was twenty-five years old, he was recommended as a Jinshi by Linghu Chu's son Linghu Tao. Soon after Linghu Chu died, he gained the respect of Wang Maozhi, who married his daughter to him. Because Wang Maozhi was an important figure in the Li Party, Li Shangyin was unable to extricate himself from the partisan struggle between Niu and Li, and was extremely frustrated in the officialdom. The famous poem "Le Youyuan" is a true portrayal of his depressed mood.
② Discomfort: displeasure, displeasure.
This poem is about the author praising the wilderness scenery before dusk and expressing his feelings. The poet Li Shangyin foresaw the serious social crisis through the temporary prosperity of the Tang Empire at that time. The two lines of the poem "The sunset is infinitely beautiful, but it's almost dusk" also express that in old age, the beautiful scenery of the past has long gone, and one can't help but sigh that time is fleeting and youth is no longer there. This is the twilight man's nostalgia for a better life, and it is also the author's feeling of the greatness and unsurpassability of life, and he uses this to express his inner helplessness.
This is a long-standing masterpiece.