The next sentence to ask you how much sorrow you can have is: Just like a river of spring water flowing eastward.
This sentence comes from "The Poppy" written by Li Yu of the Five Dynasties. The full text is:
When did the spring flowers and autumn moon come? How much do you know about the past? There was an east wind in the small building last night, and the motherland could not bear to look back at the bright moon.
The carved railings and jade inlays should still be there, but the beauty has been changed. How much sorrow can you have? Just like a river of spring water flowing eastward.
The poem "Poppy Poppy" is Li Yu's masterpiece. It writes about the pain of being in a situation where "the motherland cannot bear to look back" and feeling unbearable thoughts. The whole poem has no embellishment, no allusions, and is purely a line drawing technique to directly express emotions, embody scenes and emotions, and infect readers through the creation of artistic conception, which embodies the artistic characteristics of Li Yu's poems in a concentrated way. "A river of spring water flows eastward" is a metaphor for endless sorrow, which is apt and touching. This poem expresses the endless sorrow of a subjugated king through the contrast between the past and the present.
As a king, Li Yu undoubtedly failed; as a poet, he achieved great success. This song "Poppy Poppy" is a masterpiece that has been passed down through the ages. He broke through the tradition of poetry in the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, and developed poetry from a tool for entertainment and entertainment before flowers and moonlight to a lyrical style of singing about life.
The whole poem uses clear, concise, beautiful and fresh language, and uses various rhetorical techniques such as metaphor, symbol, contrast, and questioning to highly summarize and vividly express the poet's true feelings. No wonder the predecessors praised Li Yu's lyrics as "a song of blood and tears", "one word for each bead". The predecessors' poem about Empress Li said: "To be a talented person is really unparalleled, but to be a king is pitiful." Indeed, as a subjugated king with "a good voice and no regard for political affairs", there is nothing good to say, but as a poet of the generation, He left many words of blood and tears that shocked the world and wept ghosts and gods to future generations, which have been passed down through the ages. This song "Poppy Poppy" is one of the most well-known ones. The lyrics are carefully structured, swirling and undulating throughout the text, and revolve around a central idea, forming a harmonious and coordinated artistic whole. Before Li Yu, no poet could achieve such high achievements in structural art. Therefore, Wang Guowei said: "There are sentences but no chapters in the poetry of the Tang and Five Dynasties. There are chapters but no sentences in the poetry of famous writers in the Southern Song Dynasty. There are chapters but there are sentences, but the works written by Empress Li after his death and Yongshu, Zizhan, Shao There are only a few people like You, Meicheng and Jiaxuan." ("Deleted Manuscripts of Human Words") It can be seen that Li Yu's artistic achievements have a significance that transcends the times. Of course, the more important thing is that he can express his emotions deeply because he feels deeply. It is the emotion itself that plays a decisive role. It is also Wang Guowei who said it well: "The words of the empress are really written in blood." This song "Poppy Poppy" is full of emotions of sorrow, hatred, and grief. Its emotions are so deep and strong that they are like the surging river, with great disregard for everything. Everything is rushing out. A king who was above the sword and his country's subjugation dared to express the hatred of his country's subjugation so boldly. His courage is rare in history. Li Yu's pure and sincere emotion in his poems is probably what Wang Guowei said was the "innocent words" coming from the "innocent heart". This feature is most prominent in the song "Poppy Beauty", so much so that Li Yu paid for this with his life.
Li Yu, the king of the Southern Tang Dynasty during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, reigned from 961 to 975. His courtesy name was Chongguang, his first name was Congjia, and his nicknames were Zhongyin and Lianfeng Jushi. Han nationality, from Pengcheng (now Xuzhou, Jiangsu). The sixth son of Li Jing, Yuanzong of the Southern Tang Dynasty, succeeded to the throne in the second year of Jianlong of the Song Dynasty (961), and was known as empress Li in history. In the eighth year of Kaibao's reign, the Song army defeated the capital of the Southern Tang Dynasty. Li Yu surrendered to the Song Dynasty and was captured in Bianjing. He was named General You Qianniu Guard and Marquis of Disobedience. Later, he was poisoned to death by Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty for writing the noun "poppy poppy" that was sentimental to his homeland. Although Li Yu has no political knowledge, his artistic talent is extraordinary. He is proficient in calligraphy, painting, proficient in music, and has certain attainments in both poetry and writing. He is particularly accomplished in poetry, and has left behind eternal masterpieces such as "Poppy Beauty", "Lang Tao Sha", and "Wye Cry". Li Yu, who failed politically, left an immortal chapter in the world of Ci and was known as the "Eternal Ci Emperor".