To compare the West Lake to Xizi means to compare the beautiful West Lake to the beauty Xi Shi.
This poem comes from "The First Sunny and Later Rain on the Drinking Lake" written by Su Shi, a great poet of the Song Dynasty: The clear water is beautiful when the water is shining, and the mountains are empty and covered with rain, which is also strange. If you want to compare the West Lake to the West, it is always better to put on light makeup and heavy makeup.
The translation of the poem is: The West Lake when the sky is clear and the air is clear, the water is full of light and the waves are clear; the West Lake when it is drizzling and misty, the mountains are ethereal and seem to exist or not. If this beautiful West Lake is compared to the peerless beauty Xi Shi, then no matter whether it is heavy makeup or light makeup, it will be stunning.
Poem Appreciation:
There are two opposite explanations for the metaphor of "the West Lake is better than the West Lake": one is that the poet "compared the West Lake on a sunny day to the West Lake with light makeup; The West Lake on a rainy day is better than the Xizi with heavy makeup; one theory is that the poet is "compared with heavy makeup on a sunny day, and lighter makeup on a rainy day". Both theories have their own opinions and basis.
But as far as talented poets are concerned, this is a metaphor for the divine that comes accidentally from a master's hand. The magical stroke that comes to him when he is thinking about poetry is just a momentary meeting of mind and scenery, from the beautiful scenery of the West Lake to the incarnation of beauty. Xizi, from the West Lake's "good weather" and "unexpected rain", imagine that Xizi should also be "always suitable for light makeup and heavy makeup".
When I was setting up the metaphor and writing, I am afraid that I may not necessarily stick to the terms sunny and rain, which one refers to heavy makeup and which refers to light makeup. When appreciating this poem, if heavy makeup and light makeup must be classified as sunny and rainy respectively, it may damage the integrity of the metaphor and the ethereal beauty of the poem.