note on a rainy night to a friend in the north is a poem by Li Shangyin in the Tang Dynasty.
the original
note on a rainy night to a friend in the north
Li shangyin? [Tang dynasty]
evening rain rose in autumn pool before you asked him to return home.
when * * * cuts the candle at the west window, but talks about evening rain.
translation
You asked me about the date of my return home, but I haven't set a date yet. At this moment, the night rain in Bashan is falling, and the rain has risen all over the autumn pool.
When can we have a long talk by candlelight and talk to each other about our thoughts in evening rain tonight?
Note
Send poems to the north: write poems and send them to people in the north. The poet was in Bashu (now Sichuan Province) and his relatives and friends were in Chang 'an, so he said "send to the north". This poem expresses the poet's deep nostalgia for his relatives and friends.
Jun: The honorific title for the other person is equal to "you" in modern Chinese.
return date: refers to the date of going home.
Bashan: refers to Daba Mountain, which is at the junction of southern Shaanxi and northeastern Sichuan. This refers to Bashu area in general.
autumn pond: a pond in autumn.
when: when.
***: Adverb, used before the predicate, indicates that the action is caused by two or more agents. It can be translated as "together"
Cut the candle at the west window: cut the candle, and cut off the burnt wick to make the light bright. Here is a description of a long talk at night. "Rain at the West Window" and "Cut the candle at the West Window" are used as idioms, which are not limited to couples, but sometimes used to write about the feelings of missing friends.
but words: talk back, recount.
Appreciation
Who is this poem addressed to? There are two opinions: a friend and a wife. The former thinks that Li Shangyin lived in Bashu when he was the staff of Liu Zhongying, an envoy of Dongchuan Province from 39 to 43 years old, and before that, his wife Wang had died. The holder thinks that Li Shangyin had already traveled to Bashu before this. Others think it is addressed to "family members or friends". Judging from the passionate thoughts and lingering emotions expressed in the poem, it seems more appropriate to send it to his wife.
The first two sentences of the poem, with questions and answers and descriptions of the immediate environment, illustrate the lonely feelings and deep thoughts for his wife. The last two sentences imagine the joy of meeting again in the future and contrast the loneliness tonight. This poem was improvised, which shows the twists and turns of the poet's feelings in an instant. The language is simple, and there are no traces of modification in wording and sentence making. Unlike most of Li Shangyin's poems, which are rich in rhetoric, exquisite in allusions, and good at symbols and hints, this poem is simple and natural, and also has the artistic characteristics of "deep sustenance and gentle wording".
The first question, "Jun asked that the return date is not due", is full of expressiveness by asking and answering, pausing first and then turning. The sorrow of his journey and the pain of not returning have come to the fore. A large section of content was omitted before the poem. It can be guessed that the poet had received a letter from his wife, hoping that her husband would return to his hometown as soon as possible. The poet naturally hopes to go home and reunite as soon as possible. However, for various reasons, the wish cannot be realized at the moment. The first sentence reveals the pain of parting and the longing.
The second sentence "evening rain rose in the autumn pool" is that the poet told his wife about his environment and mood. The rainy night in the autumn mountains always evokes the sadness of leaving people. The poet expressed his infinite yearning for his wife with this scenery that sent people away from their thoughts. It seems to make people imagine that on an autumn night, the pond is full of water, and the poet is leaning on the bed alone in the house to meditate. Thinking about his wife's life and mood at home at this moment; Recall their former life together; Chewing on my loneliness.
Three or four sentences, "Why * * cut the candle at the west window, but talk about evening rain", are the happy imagination of future reunion. The lonely thoughts in my heart can only be pinned on the future. At that time, the poet returned to his hometown, whispering with his wife under the window of Westinghouse, and stayed up all night, so that the candle blossomed. They cut off the flowers, but they still have endless feelings of separation and endless joy after reunion. This poem not only describes the loneliness of listening to the autumn rain in Bashan today, but also imagines the happiness when we get together tomorrow. The pain at this time is intertwined with the joy in the future, and time and space change.
The language of this poem is simple and fluent, and it is sincere and sincere. The repeated appearance of "evening rain" at the beginning and at the end is soul-stirring. "What to do" is closely related to "not due", which effectively shows the author's eagerness to return home.
Creation background
This poem is selected from Volume III of Poems of Yuxi Life, and it was written by Li Shangyin when he stayed in Bashu (present-day Sichuan Province). Because Chang 'an is in the north of Bashu, it is titled note on a rainy night to a friend in the north.
In Ten Thousand Poems from the Tang Dynasty compiled by Hong Mai in the Southern Song Dynasty, the title of this poem is "Rain in the Night", which means that the poem is addressed to his wife. In their view, Li Shangyin went to LiuZhongying, our envoy to Dongchuan, in July of the fifth year of Dazhong (851), and Wang died at the turn of summer and autumn of this year. It took Li Shangyin several months to learn of his wife's death.
note on a rainy night to a friend in the north is the title of Li Shi's poems, and "North" refers to people from the north, which can refer to wives or friends. Some people think that it was written after the death of the author's wife, Wang, so it is not a poem "sent inside", but a gift to friends in Chang 'an.
as far as the content of the poem is concerned, if you interpret it by "sending it inside", you will feel sad and lingering; Looking at it as "sending it to the north", it is too delicate and dull, and it is too delicate.
Author's brief introduction
Li Shangyin (about 813-858), named Yishan, was born in Yuxi (Xi) and Fan Nansheng, a famous poet in the Tang Dynasty. His ancestral home was in Qinyang, Hanoi (now Jiaozuo City, Henan Province) and he was born in Xingyang, Zhengzhou. He is good at poetry writing, and his parallel prose is also of high literary value. He is one of the most outstanding poets in the late Tang Dynasty. Together with Du Mu, he is called "Little Li Du", and together with Wen Tingyun, he is called "Wen Li". Because his poems and essays are similar to those of Duan Chengshi and Wen Tingyun in the same period, and all three of them rank sixteenth in the family, they are also called "Thirty-six Style". His poems are novel in conception and beautiful in style, especially some love poems and untitled poems are touching, beautiful and moving, and are widely read. However, some poems are too obscure and confusing to be solved, and there is even a saying that "poets always love Xikun and hate no one to write Zheng Jian". Being in the middle of the struggle between Niu and Li, I was frustrated all my life. After his death, he was buried in his hometown Qinyang (now the junction of Qinyang and Boai County in Jiaozuo City, Henan Province). His works are included in Li Yishan's Poems.