When I see you in Gusu, everyone is sleeping by the river.
From "Sending People on a Tour to Wu" by Du Xunhe of the Tang Dynasty
When I see you in Gusu, everyone is lying on the river.
The ancient palace has little free space and many waterports and small bridges. (Water Harbor Part 1: Water Alley)
Lotus root is sold in the night market, and Qiluo is carried on the spring boat.
I know the moon is not sleeping in the distance, and my homesickness is in the fishing songs. See you in Gusu, and everyone will enjoy it by the river
This farewell song depicts the beautiful scenery of Wu through imagination, without the sad emotions of parting, and the writing style is novel and gratifying, with only a slight touch at the end. To say farewell. Suzhou in the Tang Dynasty was also called Wu County. The author sent people to wander around Wu County, also called Gusu, which was the political, economic and cultural center of Suzhou at that time. This is a prosperous land of fish and rice, famous for its silk fabrics throughout the country, and there are many historical sites. The work captures these characteristics and through description, brings this typical Jiangnan water town to life. The author is familiar with it and has feelings for it, so it is warm and interesting for people to read.
"When I see you in Suzhou, everyone is sleeping on the river." The most distinctive feature of Suzhou is water. Since Wu Zixu founded the city of Suzhou, the city has been crisscrossed with waterways and fishing boats. Life on the water has always been the main life of the local people. The couplet of the poem comes from "Everyone is lying on the river", which points out this kind of local characteristics. These five words, "There is little free space in the ancient palaces" are the history of Suzhou written by Du Xunhe in his prose. Suzhou was the capital of the State of Wu during the Spring and Autumn Period. Over the long period of time, Suzhou has transformed from a political important place into an important economic place. In the Tang Dynasty, the country's economic center of gravity began to gradually shift southward. Although it was not as obvious as the Song Dynasty, the direct impact was still obvious, which is why there was a situation of "little free land in ancient palaces".
"There are many small bridges in the water port" is the beautiful scenery of the water town created by the poet using realistic line drawing techniques. For the north, where the country’s political and cultural center is located, a water city will always be incredible unless you see it with your own eyes. Therefore, a simple combination of images can create a dream-like picture for people who have never been to the water town: Wanwan Compared with the neat and spacious official roads, the rivers in the rivers are full of gurgling spirituality. There are small bridges all over the place, connecting this shore and the other side of life. The time squatting on the bridge and the waiting of people standing on the bridge looking into the distance are not something that the tough and almost numb men in the north who are struggling under the cold wind can easily understand. The life built by small bridges and flowing water has a heart-wrenching delicacy and a carelessness that makes people easily fall into it. Such beauty cannot be found anywhere else.
Life is fluid. All the beauty in life comes from flow. "The night market sells lotus root, and the spring boat carries Qiluo." Du Xunhe likes the combination of "night market" and "spring boat". In another song "Send Friends on a Tour to Wuyue", "The night market has a fire beside the bridge, and the boat outside Chunfeng Temple" It is similar to this sentence. Prosperous and lively poems like this are very pleasant to read. In ancient China, only economically developed cities had night markets, and lotus root was the most distinctive local aquatic product. Lingluo silk is also a symbol of prosperity in life. If you recite the poems carefully, you can actually see people speaking Suzhou dialect talking about their livelihoods under the lights of the night market. Those faint lights in the distance flickered like warm stars shining in the dark night. All the life in the water town is like an undisturbed paradise, melting away in the drunkenness.
"I know that the moon is not sleeping in the distance, and my homesickness is in the fisherman's song." This couplet is the scene that the poet imagined to end the whole poem. The meaning of farewell is expressed only here, which shows the poet's unique ingenuity in planning the layout of the poem, making it appear that the aftertaste is long and thought-provoking.
This poem is written from imagination, with a fresh and lively style, and a sigh at the end of the poem, which can be said to be touching and stimulating. The water towns in the south of the Yangtze River described by the poet come to life with his careful description, making the reader feel as if he is actually there, as if he were swimming in the middle of the painting. When you go to Suzhou, you will see that all the houses are built next to the river.
The houses in Gusu City are connected and there is no open space; even the river branches are covered with small bridges.
The night market is filled with the sound of lotus root being sold, and the boats in the river are loaded with exquisite silk fabrics.
Thinking of you in the distance, hearing the fishermen's songs on the river during the moonlit night will definitely touch your homesickness.
Notes
①Gusu: Another name for Suzhou
②Zhenhe: Linhe. Pillow: approaching.
⑦Little vacant land: refers to densely populated areas with connected houses.
③ Ancient Palace: The ancient capital, here refers to Gusu.
④ Shuigang: River branch, refers to the small river flowing through the city. One is "Water Alley".
⑤Qiluo: refers to luxurious silk fabrics or silk clothes. It is said that this is a synonym for noble lady and beautiful woman.
⑥Nue Mian Yue: Not sleeping under the moon. When I see you in Gusu, everyone is sleeping on the river. Introduction to the author
Du Xunhe (846～904), a poet of the Tang Dynasty. The courtesy name is Yanzhi and the name is from Jiuhuashan. Han nationality, from Shidai, Chizhou (now Shitai, Anhui). Dashun Jinshi, famous for his poetry, became a family of his own, especially good at palace poetry. From the official to Han, the bachelor knows how to make it.
In the second year of Dashun, the first person was promoted to the throne and returned to the old mountain. Tian Bo from Xuanzhou was sent to Bian Tonghao, where Zhu Quanzhong met him kindly and was granted the title of Bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, Foreign Minister of Host and Guest Affairs, and Zhi Zhi Gao. Taking advantage of his power, he insulted the Yi Jin gentry, and the public was angry. They wanted to kill him but failed. God bless the early death. The self-prefaced text is composed of ten volumes of "Tang Feng Collection", and the current three volumes of poems are compiled. His deeds can be found in Sun Guangxian's "Beimeng Suoyan", He Guangyuan's "Jianjielu", "Old History of the Five Dynasties - Liang Shu" Biography, "Tang Poetry Chronicles" and "Tang Talented Scholars".