"Scattered pearls on a jade plate" comes from Pipa Xing written by Bai Juyi, a poet in the Tang Dynasty.
Selected passages:
Big strings hum like rain, and small strings whisper like secrets. Humming, whispering-and then mixing together, like pouring large and small pearls into a plate of jade. Between Guan Ying's words, the bottom of the flower is slippery, so you can't swallow the spring scenery and flow under the ice. The ice spring is cold and astringent, and the strings condense, and the condensation will never stop. The depth of sadness and the hiding of sadness are more told in silence than in voice.
Translation:
The big string is long and noisy, like a storm; Xiaoxian is gentle and quiet, as if someone is whispering. Noise and tangles are played alternately; Like a string of beads falling from a jade plate.
Pipa sounds like a smooth birdsong under a flower for a while, and then it sounds like a difficult, low and intermittent sound of water flowing under the ice. It seems that the cold and astringent pipa sound of the spring began to condense, and the sound of poor condensation gradually stopped. Like another kind of sadness and hatred secretly breeds; At this time, it is more touching than the sound.
Poetry appreciation
The poem not only vividly describes the bleak life experience of the pipa girl, her exile life, and the feelings of helping each other in the same boat caused by it, but also vividly describes the ups and downs and endless changes of the pipa sound, which is a metaphor for fun and excitement.
The whole poem is written in detail, and narrative, description, lyricism and discussion are integrated into one, which is beautiful and touching and has a strong artistic appeal. This poem was widely circulated as soon as it came out, and it was listed as the author's masterpiece along with Song of Eternal Sorrow.