Ancient meaning
Author: Shen Quanqi
The young woman of the Lu family, Yujintang,
Petrels inhabit the tortoiseshell beams.
In September, the cold root presses the wood leaves.
Ten years of military expedition and garrison recall Liaoyang.
White Wolf Hebei music book is broken,
The southern autumn night in Danfeng City is long.
Who can't see the sorrow alone?
Moreover, the bright moon shines yellow.
Appreciation
Ancient meaning: a work that imitates the past and chants the present. The first title of the poem is "Ancient Meaning Cheng Qiao Bu Que Zhi Zhi"; the other title is "Single Bu Jian", which is an old title of Yuefu's "Miscellaneous Songs and Songs". "Yuefu Jieti" says: "It hurts my thoughts but cannot be seen." The content is mostly about parting and resentment about girlfriends.
This seven-character poem "Ancient Meaning" is one of Shen Quanqi's representative works. It is considered by poetry critics of the past dynasties to be a beautiful and ancient poem. The poem is about a young woman who longs for her husband who has not returned from the frontier fortress for a long time. The theme has been passed down for generations, but Shen Quanqi's poem is written in a gentle and emotional way, with rich colors and harmonious rhymes, and has immortal artistic charm.
The first couplet "The young woman of the Lu family is in the Yujin Hall, with petrels perching on the tortoiseshell beam", the narrative is concise and natural. The young woman of the Lu family, named Mochou, is a character in the Southern Dynasties folk song "Song of Water in the River", and was later used as a proxy for the young woman. The starting sentence borrows the artistic conception of "Song of Water in the River" to introduce the life experience and situation of the missing woman in a concise, comprehensive and subtle way. Her family environment is gorgeous and warm, but her life is lonely and lonely. "Petrels perch on tortoiseshell beams" is a contrasting sentence, which evokes endless melancholy in the whole article. She lives alone in the empty boudoir, how can she compare to the loving swallows perching on the beam?
The couplet on the chin, "The cold root in September stirs up the wood leaves, recalling the ten years of battle in Liaoyang" is a lyrical painting, and the scenes are intertwined with each other. Late autumn and September are the seasons when clothes are being made and collected. The sound of the autumn sounds of pounding clothes is stimulating. The falling leaves make people feel sad and desolate. The poem does not directly say that the sound of the anvil "makes people cry", but says that it "makes people cry", and it says that it is wonderful in the unreasonable and strange in the twists and turns. Trees "urge" them unintentionally, how can people be embarrassed? The meaning is implicit and tactful, and the sound of the anvil is neither cold nor warm. The addition of the word "cold" enhances the emotional color of the poem and clearly expresses the mood of missing a wife. She associates the sound of the pestle with the rush to make clothes to the conscripting person - her husband, "remembering Liaoyang during the ten years of conquest", which naturally reveals the purpose of the whole poem.
The neck couplet "White Wolf Hebei Music Book is broken, Danfeng City has a long southern autumn night", which is a continuation of the previous sentence and further elaborates on the theme. As Wu Qiao said in "Weilu Poems": "'White Wolf Hebei Yinshujuan' means to conquer the garrison, and 'Danfeng City's southern autumn night is long' means 'recalling Liaoyang'". . Ten years of conquest is a long time, and with the loss of news, life and death are unpredictable.
As the saying goes: "A thousand miles can be separated by not a single layer of wood." As long as a letter comes and she knows that her husband is still alive, she will still have hope. But "the music and the book are broken", what is revealed in the deep sigh is not just the ordinary sorrow of looking forward to returning home. She was anxious about her husband's safety, and even had ominous suspicions. The news was cut off, and being exposed to the long autumn night and the sound of anvils, it can be said that "recalling Liaoyang" is heartbreaking.
The last couplet "Who can't see me alone because of my sorrow, even more so that the bright moon shines yellow", Wu Qiao analyzed that it "completes the meaning of sending clothes above". This seems a bit "blaming others". She missed her husband bitterly. Not only could she not see him in person, but she didn't even receive a letter from him. The word "who does it for" is used very appropriately, indicating that the missing woman seems to be "blaming" herself for being "passionate". She tried to forgive herself, but she thought about it more and more deeply. In this long night, God chose to let the bright moon shine on the "liquid yellow" of the prefabricated clothes. There is no news about the levy. Where can I send the levy clothes? The poems are resentful but not angry, and the artistic conception is quiet and gentle. Therefore, predecessors commented: "'The Young Wife of the Lu Family' is gentle from beginning to end."
Although this song "Ancient Meaning" is a complete seven-melody song, it is deeply influenced by Yuefu. "Preface to the Reading of Tang Poems in Snow Mountain Fang" says: "The seven-character rhymed poems originated from Yuefu, so Shen Yunqing's "Longchi" and "Ancient Meaning" are the top chapters." Hu Yinglin even believed: "'The young woman of the Lu family Yujintang, petrels inhabit the tortoiseshell Liang's poem, "Who can't see the sorrow alone, but also teaches the bright moon to shine brightly", also praised by Tong Yuefu. "It also praised that "the sentence is a pearl of eternity", but also criticized that "the conclusion is almost like a snake's feet."
Why is it said to be close to Yuefu? Probably there are Kuan Dui and Liu Shui Dui, as pointed out in "Weilu Poetry Talk": "Eight lines of hooks and three links do not need to use the certain method of starting, inheriting, turning and combining.
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