"Night Tour of Chengtian Temple" adopts the characteristics of layered writing. The travel notes are based on true feelings and written in letters, starting from the right place and ending at the right place, like flowing clouds and flowing water without skills. See the skills and reach the state of "one word is natural and eternally new, and all luxury is pure". Divide the full text into three levels, the first level is narrative. The first sentence points out the time of the event as "October 12, the sixth year of Yuanfeng". This level of narrative is simple, indifferent and naturally smooth.
The second layer depicts the scenery. The author's brilliance lies in the fact that the shadows of bamboo and cypress and the moonlight are used to set off, compare and metaphor each other with precise and novel techniques, and to exaggerate the beauty and solemnity of the scenery in an appropriate atmosphere.
The third floor turned to discussion.
Original text
On the night of October 12th, the sixth year of Yuanfeng, I took off my clothes and was about to fall asleep. When the moonlight came into my house, I happily set off. Thinking of nothing and being happy, I went to Chengtian Temple to look for Zhang Huaimin. Huai Min also stayed up and walked with each other in the atrium. Under the courtyard, the sky looks like accumulated water, with algae and waterlilies crisscrossing it, and covered with shadows of bamboo and cypress. What night is there without a moon? Where are there no bamboos or cypresses? But there are few idle people like the two of us.
Vernacular translation
On the night of October 12, the sixth year of Yuanfeng (or the night of October 12, 1083 AD, it does not need to be translated), (I) took off my clothes and prepared to go to bed. , I happened to see the moonlight shining into the house through the window, (so I) happily got up and went out for a walk. It occurred to me that I had no one with whom to play, so I went to Chengtian Temple to look for Zhang Huaimin. Zhang Huaimin didn't sleep either, so we walked in the courtyard together. The courtyard was full of moonlight, like water filling the courtyard, clear and transparent -- water through which extended a line of water-lilies and water-lilies -- which turned out to be the shadow of bamboo and cypress. Which night is without moonlight? (Again) Where are there no pine and cypress trees? It’s just that there is a lack of leisurely people like the two of us (who are not obsessed with fame and wealth but can leisurely linger in the situation).
Extended information:
Introduction to the work
"Night Tour of Chengtian Temple" is an ancient article written by Su Shi, a writer in the Song Dynasty. The article provides a wonderful description of the moonlit night scenery, truly recording a fragment of the author's life when he was demoted to Huangzhou. It also reflects his deep friendship with Zhang Huaimin and his infinite emotion at having few close friends. His depression and self-disease reflect his broad-minded and optimistic attitude towards life. The full text is full of sincere emotions, concise and meaningful, starting from the beginning and ending at the right place, like flowing clouds and flowing water, all in one go.
Creative background
This article was written in the sixth year of Yuanfeng (1083), the reign of Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty. The author had been demoted to Huangzhou for four years. In July of the second year of Yuanfeng, there was the famous "Wutai Poetry Case" in history. The censor Li Ding and others excerpted Su Shi's poems about the new law and said that he had slandered him with his poems. In August, he was arrested and imprisoned. After a long period of interrogation and torture, he was almost killed. In December, the author was released from prison and was demoted to Huangzhou as the deputy envoy of Tuanlian, but he was not allowed to "sign official documents", which meant that he was an idle official with duties but no power. In this case, the author was almost in exile and in a melancholy mood; however, he still had the enterprising spirit, so he wrote this short article.
About the author
Su Shi (1037-1101), a writer in the Song Dynasty. His courtesy name is Zizhan, his nickname is Hezhong, and his nickname is Dongpo Jushi. A native of Meishan, Meizhou (now part of Sichuan). Jiayou (reign of Emperor Renzong of Song Dynasty, 1056-1063) was a Jinshi. He once wrote a letter to express the disadvantages of Wang Anshi's new law. Later, he was sent to the imperial censor's prison and demoted to Huangzhou for writing poems that satirized the new law. Zhezong of the Song Dynasty was a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy at that time. He once went to Hangzhou and Yingzhou, and became the Minister of Rites. Later he was demoted to Huizhou and Danzhou. Lots of benefits. His posthumous title was Wenzhong.
Educated and knowledgeable, he likes to reward the underachievers. Together with his father Su Xun and his younger brother Su Zhe, they are collectively known as "Three Su". His writing is vertical and horizontal, and he is one of the "Eight Great Masters of Tang and Song Dynasties". His poems have broad themes, are fresh and bold, are good at using exaggerated metaphors, and have a unique style. Together with Huang Tingjian, he is also known as "Su Huang". He is a bold and unrestrained poet, and is called "Su Xin" together with Xin Qiji. He also works in calligraphy and painting. There are "Dongpo Seven Collections", "Dongpo Yi Zhuan", "Dongpo Yuefu" and so on.
Baidu Encyclopedia - "Night Tour of Chengtian Temple"