The Sapphire Case: Sending Bo Gu back to Wuzhong. Original text:
Three years later, I stayed on Wuzhong Road. Send Huang Er to follow you. If you go to Songjiang Huxiaodu. Don't be afraid of gulls and herons, there are four bridges everywhere, where I pass by. Looking at the spring evening in Wangchuan River. Always remember the words of Master Youcheng. The date of return has been promised. The spring shirt is still there, and the little man's needlework has been wet by the rain from the West Lake. The Sapphire Case·Send Bogu Back to Wuzhong Translation and Annotations
Translation In the past three years, my dream soul has been flying to Wuzhong Hometown Road. I will send you a yellow dog as a messenger to accompany you back to your homeland. If you go to Songjiang and call for a boat to ferry you, be sure not to scare the gulls and egrets. The river crossing at the Fourth Bridge in Wuzhong was a place I often visited back then. I once savored the late spring scenery of Wuzhong as Wang Wei did in "Wangchuan Picture", and often recited Wang Youcheng's poems. God has promised me a return date, and the spring shirt on my body is still made of Xiaoman's fine needles and dense threads, which have been soaked by Yiyi's tears in the West Lake.
Notes 1 Bogu: Su Shi's poetic friend Su Jian, also known as Bogu, stayed with Su Shi in Hangzhou for three years. 2 Yellow Dog: dog name. According to "Book of Jin·Biography of Lu Ji", Lu Ji's dog was named Huang Er. When Lu Ji was in Luoyang, he tied a letter around Huang Er's neck. Huang Er not only sent it to Lu Ji's home in Songjiang, but also brought back a reply. . This allusion is used here to express the hope of constant communication. 3 "Picture of Wangchuan": Wang Wei of the Tang Dynasty once painted "Picture of Wangchuan" on the wall of Qingliang Temple in Lantian. 4 Xiaoman: The name of the singing girl. This refers to Su Shi's concubine Chaoyun. The Sapphire Case: An Appreciation of Sending Bogu Back to Wuzhong
This is the first work to be sent to others, and was written in 1092 AD (the seventh year of Yuanyou). This word expresses the author's envy for Su Jian's return to Wu and his longing for his old travels in Wuzhong. The allusion of "yellow dog" is used to express the hope that Bogu will send a timely letter after returning to Wu. "Hu Xiaodu" is a few sentences with vivid details, full of reality, giving the other party a sense of intimacy of "walking with you". Xia Qian expresses his regret that he cannot return, and indirectly expresses his weariness with the ups and downs of the official world. Based on Bogu's "return", he expressed his own "return plan".
Among the many farewell words, Su Shi's "The Sapphire Case" is unique. On the one hand, the author wrote it to see off guests, and on the other hand, he himself was a guest in a foreign country. It was written to see off "guests". The center of the whole poem lies in the word "Gui", which expresses envy for Su Jian's return to Wuzhong and laments that his dream of returning to Wuzhong will never come true. The sentence "Make a promise from heaven for your return date" is like a strange place. Knowing clearly that you cannot return but still saying "God has promised you", the feeling of longing for your return is even more profound. "Xiaoman's needlework" shows the decay of the official's travels to the end of the world and his sincere love. Its artistic conception is incomparable with Liu Yong's childish words such as "I sit with Yi sitting idle with needlework" ("Ding Fengbo"). "Make a promise to return to heaven, the spring clothes are still there, Xiaoman's needlework, the rain has wet the West Lake." "Heaven to make a promise to return" describes Su Shi's eagerness to return and reunite with his relatives and loved ones, and specially borrows Bai Juyi's favored prostitute Xiao Xiao who is good at dancing. Man, metaphorically refers to his beloved concubine Chao Yun. The spring shirt sewn by Chao Yun was "wet by the rain on the West Lake", which is a footnote to "Destiny": God is affectionate, and shed tears and rain for Chao Yun's lovesickness, which wets the poet. Isn't spring shirt "promised by God"? The author of the whole poem misses Chaoyun, and the writing style is melodious and subtle.
Poetry works: Sapphire Case·Send Bogu back to Wuzhong Poetry author: Su Shi, Song Dynasty Poetry classification: Describing scenery, thinking about returning