"A Walk of Ancient Cypresses"
Author: Du Fu
There is an old cypress in front of the Kongming Temple (1), with roots like bronze and stone (2).
The frost-skinned rain falls for forty feet, and the black color towers two thousand feet into the sky⑶.
The king and his ministers have met each other in time, and the trees are still cherished by people⑷.
The clouds bring the air to the Wu Gorge, and the cold moon rises to the white snowy mountains.
I recall that yesterday the road went around the east side of Jinting Pavilion (6), where the former Lord Wuhou Tonglin Palace (7).
Cui Wei's branches are ancient in the suburbs, and the elegant and beautiful houses are open to the sky⑻.
Although Luoluo is entrenched, he has gained the ground ⑼, but he is so lonely that there is a fierce wind ⑽.
Support the power of God, the cause of creation⑾.
The building is like a leaning beam, and thousands of cattle look back at the hills and mountains.
The world has been shocked without revealing the article. Who can send it without saying goodbye?
Hard work will not tolerate ants, and the fragrant leaves will eventually pass by Luan Feng.
People with lofty ideals should not complain: ancient materials are hard to use.
Notes
⑴The Wuhou Temple in Chengdu is attached to the Xianzhu Temple, while the Kongming Temple in Kuizhou is separate from the Xianzhu Temple. This is the Kongming Temple in Kuizhou.
⑵ This sentence describes the ancientness of cypress. Ke, branch Ke.
⑶These two sentences describe the height of the cypress, which is an exaggeration. Frost skin means pale skin, which describes the pale skin color. Liuyu describes the smoothness of the skin. Forty people around, forty people hugging each other.
⑷These two sentences are interjections. Zhang Shangruoyun said: "The whole story can be explained by adding a layer of Debei during Kong Ming's lifetime." It means that because Liu Bei and Kong Ming's monarchs and ministers had merit for the people, the people did not cut them down, so the cypress trees grew so tall; Tall and tall, it shows Kong Ming’s legacy. Meeting by chance means meeting by chance.
⑸ These two sentences are followed by three or four sentences to describe the height of the cypress tree. Zhao Cigong said: "Wuxia Gorge is under Kui (according to the east), the clouds in Wu Gorge come and the air of cypress trees connects; the snow mountain is in the west of Kui, the moon rises in the snow mountain and the cypress trees are cold and connected, all of which are said to be tall and tall. "Ye." Liu Xuxi from the Song Dynasty believed that the second sentence of Yun Lai should be before the second sentence of Jun and Chen, and the second sentence of Jun and Chen should be after the second sentence of Yun Lai (Qiu Zhaoao reversed these four sentences based on Liu's suggestion), which was too subjective and bold. Because it seemed more fluent in this way, the article seemed mediocre and lacked momentum, so Huang Sheng dismissed it as "childish opinion." ——The above is the first paragraph, which is the main text of chanting Gubai.
⑹The following four sentences are opened, accompanied by Chengdu ancient cypresses. Du Fu only left Chengdu last year, so he talked about remembering yesterday. Du Fu's Chengdu thatched cottage is close to the Jinjiang River (the poem "Du Juan": "Jie Lu is by the Jin River."), and there is a pavilion in the thatched cottage (the poem "Ji Ti Jiangwai Thatched Cottage": "The pavilions follow the heights, and the open water is like the clear river.") , so it is said that Jinxiang (Yan Wu has a poem titled "Du Er Jin Jiang Ye Pavilion"). Wuhou Temple is in the east of Tingting, so the road goes around the east of Jinting. A pavilion is a city, not a city.
⑺Xianzhu: refers to Liu Bei. The palace is the temple.
⑻ Qiu Zhaoao's note: "The suburbs are ancient, and they have ancient roots. The sky is empty, and there is no one in it." Slim and graceful, with deep appearance.
⑼ Luoluo: independent and uncompromising.
⑽The next four sentences are collected from Kuizhou Gubai. This means that the temple cypress in Kuizhou grows in high mountains and suffers from strong winds, which is not as good as the temple cypress in Chengdu that grows in the plains. Luoluo, out of the crowd. Because he was born in front of the Kongming Temple, some people cherished him, so he was said to have acquired the land. But the tree is tall and attracts the wind, and it is on a high mountain, so it is often shaken by strong winds. Mingming, the color of the sky.
⑾ It is not driven by strong winds, but seems to be protected by gods, so it is called the power of gods. Kashiwa's integrity. It originates from nature, so it is the result of creation. Because of his integrity, he is supported by the gods. Although the two sentences are correct, their meaning is consistent. ——The above is the second paragraph. From the tallness of the ancient cypress, the integrity of the ancient cypress is further described.
⑿The following part is divided again, using the difficulty of ancient cypresses to describe the difficulty of great talents being used by the world. "Wen Zhongzi": "The collapse of a building is not due to one thing." Ancient cypresses are as heavy as hills and mountains, so ten thousand cows cannot drag them.
⒀Not showing the article: refers to the ancient cypress without the beauty of flowers and leaves.
⒁These two sentences contain the shadow of Du Fu himself. Gu Bai doesn't know how to show off, so he says he doesn't reveal his articles. The ancient cypresses could have been used as pillars, so they were said not to be cut down. This is Du Fu's character, that is, he is not afraid of sacrifice, and has the same heart as "I can cut my own blood, drink and peck to comfort the lonely sorrow", "I dare to love to death when I am lucky, and I am frightened by loneliness". Send, in terms of wood, means to transfer; in terms of people, it means to recommend or recommend.
⒂The heart of cypress tastes bitter, so it is called bitter heart. Cypress leaves have fragrance, so they are called fragrant leaves. These two sentences also contain a sense of life experience.
⒃The last two sentences reveal the original meaning, but the word "caida" still includes Jibai's year. In feudal society, a person who really wants to do something for the people of the country is not welcomed by the rulers. Ancient means that it is not only the case today, but also has been the case since ancient times. ——The above is the third paragraph. Huang Shengyun: "In the section of the building, you talk about things in your mouth, and talk about people in your mind. The ending is a pun on characters, which makes it easier to use the pen." Yang Lunyun: "After the building, the sustenance is far away, and it is extremely depressed and frustrated."
Rhyme Translation
There is an ancient cypress tree in front of Kongming Temple. Its branches are as colored as bronze and its roots are as solid as rock.
The bark of the tree is white and lubricated. The trunk is forty meters in diameter, and the blue-black tree towers up to two thousand feet toward the sky.
The meeting of Liu Bei, Kong Ming and his ministers has passed, but the trees are still there and are still cherished by people.
The towering cypress trees and clouds and mist bring the air to Wu Gorge, and the cold light of the moon rises directly to the Minshan Mountain.
I think of the past when the path surrounded my thatched cottage to the east, and the Master Temple and Wuhou Temple were in the same palace.
The cypress branches and stems of Cuiwei's outskirts are growing in ancient times, and the temples have deep lacquer paintings and continuous doors and windows.
Although the ancient cypress is independent and tall, it can occupy the land, but its high position and aloofness will inevitably attract strong winds.
The support it receives is naturally due to the power of the gods, and its integrity and majesty are due to the merits of the Creator.
If a building collapses, it must be supported by beams and pillars. Ancient cypress trees are as heavy as hills and mountains, and even ten thousand oxen cannot pull them.
It shocks the world by not revealing its patterns and colors. Who can pick and deliver it without hesitation?
Despite its painstaking efforts, it is unavoidable to be eroded by ants. The fragrant leaves once attracted phoenixes and phoenixes to come and go. .
Dear people with lofty ideals in the world, please don’t complain. Since ancient times, great talents have been rarely reused.
Commentary
This poem was probably written in 766 AD (the first year of the Dali calendar), and should be written at the same time as "Ten Quatrains of Kuizhou Song". Ode to the embrace, the true meaning is all in the last paragraph. This poem has a lot of antithetical lines, all rhymed with three rhymes, and each rhyme has eight lines, forming a paragraph of its own. The format is very similar to "The Washing of Soldiers and Horses".
This poem is in Bixing style. The poet praises the ancient cypresses that have withstood the weather and stood tall in the cold sky to praise the talented and loyal Kong Ming. Every sentence chants about ancient cypresses, and every sound praises Marquis Wu. Writing about the ancient cypress is used to create a meeting between the monarch and his ministers, and using the old cypress to be lonely and tall symbolizes the loyalty of Marquis Wu.
The first six lines of the poem are the first paragraph, which uses the rise of ancient cypresses to praise their tallness and the gathering of monarchs and ministers. The ten sentences of "Yunlai" are the second paragraph, starting from the ancient cypresses of Kuizhou and thinking of the ancient cypresses of Xianzhu Temple in Chengdu. Among them, the two sentences of "Luoluo" describe both trees and people, and the harmony between trees and people. The eight-sentence "Building" is the third paragraph, expressing great feelings about things and people. The last sentence is a pun, expressing the poet's resentment that his ambitions are not fulfilled and his great talents are not used.
"The Journey of Ancient Cypress" describes an ancient cypress tree. The poem goes: "The frosty skin is raining forty meters around, and the dark color is towering two thousand feet into the sky." Shen Kuo, a scientist in the Song Dynasty, criticized these two lines of poetry as incorrect in his "Mengxi Bi Tan". He used mathematical concepts to understand these two lines of poetry, and said that this ancient cypress was too slender. But Du Fu's original intention was just to describe the height of the tree, and he did not know how to use mathematical accuracy. We read these two poems using the method of "willing against one's will". We know that this is an exaggeration, and we will never calculate the volume proportion of this tree.
Translation and Appreciation of "Gu Bai Xing"