The stars hang down on the plains and the fields are broad
From Du Fu's "Wandering at Night" in the Tang Dynasty
The grass on the shore is gentle and the wind is blowing, and the rafts are dangerous and the boat is alone at night.
The stars hang down over the vast plains, and the moon surges across the river.
It is not famous to write articles. Officials should retire due to old age and illness.
What does Piao Piao look like? The sky and the earth are like sand gulls.
Appreciation
The first half of the poem describes the scene of "night travel". The first and second sentences describe close-up scenes: the breeze is blowing the fine grass on the river bank, and the boat with the tall mast is moored alone on the moonlit night. At that time, Du Fu had no choice but to leave Chengdu. In the first month of 765, he resigned from his post as a staff officer to the Jiedushi Governor. In April, his friend Yan Wu, who relied on him for survival in Chengdu, died. In this lonely and helpless situation, he decided to leave Shu and go east. Therefore, here is not a general description of the scene, but an expression of emotion in the scene, showing his situation and feelings through the description of the scene: as small as the grass on the river bank, as lonely as the lonely boat in the river. The third and fourth sentences describe the distant view: the stars hang low, the plains are vast; the moon surges with the waves, and the river flows eastward. These two sentences describe the majestic and vast scenery, which has always been praised by people. Some people think that the poet embodies the emotion in these two scenery-describing sentences as "open and wide-open" (Pu Qilong's "Reading Du Xinjie"), while some people think that it expresses the emotion of "joy" (see "Collected Essays on Tang Poetry"). ·Explanation of Du Fu's Five Laws and Regulations"). This poem is about the poet's miserable wandering in his later years, and the above two explanations only emphasize the literal meaning of the poem. In fact, the poet writes about the vast plains, the mighty rivers, and the brilliant stars and moon, precisely to reflect his lonely image and helpless mood. This technique of using happy scenes to describe sadness is often used in classical works. For example, "The Book of Songs·Xiaoya·Plucking Wei": "I am gone in the past, and the willows are still there." The beautiful scenery of spring is used to contrast the miserable mood of the soldiers on the expedition, and the writing is very touching.
The second half of the poem is "Book Love". The fifth and sixth sentences say: "I have some fame, but why is it because of my good articles? As an official, I should retire because of old age and illness." This is irony, and the intention is extremely implicit. The poet has always had lofty political ambitions, but they have been suppressed for a long time and cannot display them. He can "article" (poetry), but at that time, people were not famous for their good articles. He was a minor official but had to retire. Du Fu was indeed old and sick at this time, but his retirement was not mainly due to old age and illness, but to being marginalized. This shows the injustice in the poet's heart, and at the same time reveals that political frustration is the fundamental reason for his wandering and loneliness. Regarding the meaning of this couplet, Huang Sheng said that it is "a statement that blames nothing and blames oneself" ("Du Shi Shuo"), Qiu Zhaoao said that "the five attributes are self-effacing and the sixth is self-explanation" ("Du Shaoling Collection") Note》), is not very appropriate. The last two sentences say: "What does the floating body look like? It's just like a sand gull in the vast world." The poet expressed his sadness at the scene. The water and sky are vast, and the sand gulls are floating; people are like sand gulls, migrating to rivers and lakes. This couplet uses the scenery to express emotions, every word and every tear, which is deeply touching.
Wang Fuzhi's "Jiangzhai Poetry Talk" said: "Although the scene is divided into the heart and the object, the scene creates the emotion, the emotion creates the scene...each other hides his house." Scenes hide each other's house, that is, they embody feelings. Yu Jinghe combines scenery with emotion. The former writes about scenery that is suitable for expressing the emotions that the poet wants to express, so that the emotions are hidden in the scenery; the latter does not describe the emotions abstractly, but hides the scenery in the emotions. Du Fu's poem "Walking at Night" is an example of how scenes and scenes complement each other and hide each other's homes in classical poetry.
The loneliness of being wandering and helpless is exactly the evaluation of society. At that time, the imperial city was so big, but there was no other place to stay. I came to Chengdu, but because of Yan Wu’s death , was forced to leave, because there was no one to reuse him, and there was no one for him. What kind of helplessness was that. In this way, the whole poem also highlights the corruption of the court politics at that time, as well as the resentment and helplessness in his heart that his talents were not recognized.