Source: Wang Dongting by Liu Yuxi in Tang Dynasty
Original poem:
The lake and the moon set each other off, and there is no wind mirror on the pool surface.
Looking at Dongting from a distance, there is a green snail in the silver plate.
Translation:
The water color and moonlight of Dongting Lake reflect each other, and the lake is calm, just like an unpolished bronze mirror. Looking at Dongting Lake from a distance, the landscape is as green as ink, like a green snail in a silver plate.
Poetry appreciation
Liu Yuxi, a great poet in the Tang Dynasty, was relegated to Bashan, Chushui and Shuijian for more than 20 years after Yongzhen's reform failed. The poet passed by Dongting Lake many times and wrote many famous poems, such as Looking at Dongting Lake, Journey to Dongting Lake in Autumn and Moon, and Nostalgia for the Army Mountain.
The ancients sang autumn colors in Dongting, which was often associated with autumn wind, fallen leaves and waves. Qu Yuan, a great poet, chanted: "Autumn wind blows, and waves in the cave are under the leaves", which is a famous sentence throughout the ages.
This poem by Liu Yuxi does not focus on the scene of trees falling in the autumn wind, but chooses a calm autumn night with smooth moonlight and rippling water waves, and focuses on the charming scenery of clear, quiet and beautiful lakes and mountains. The poem uses "mirror" and "silver plate" to describe the lake and "green snail" to describe Junshan, which is fresh and appropriate, colorful and picturesque.