From "Meeting Envoys Entering the Capital" written by Cen Shen, a poet in the prosperous Tang Dynasty
The road to the east of my hometown is long, and my sleeves are full of tears.
We will meet soon without pen and paper, and I will rely on you to send messages of peace.
"We will meet immediately without paper and pen, so I will rely on you to send messages to report safety." These two sentences are about the situation when you meet an envoy coming to Beijing and want to send a letter home to report safety but suffer from the lack of paper and pen. It is completely a case of meeting immediately. The hurried tone of the traveler's writing is very expressive. The word "meet" points out the title. On the way to Anxi, I met an old friend who was an envoy to Beijing. They both crossed arms and passed each other. One continued westward and the other returned eastward to Chang'an, while his wife was also in Chang'an. , I happened to ask my old friend to bring a safe letter home, but I didn’t have paper and pen, and I didn’t bother to write a letter, so I had to ask my old friend to bring a message, “I’ll send you a message to say safe and sound.” This last line of the poem is very simple and neatly wrapped up, but the simplicity embodies the poet's deep feelings, which makes it taste light and has quite a charm. Cen Shen went on this trip with the ambition of "getting fame only from horses". At this time, his mood was complicated. On the one hand, he has the tenderness of longing for the imperial capital and his hometown, and on the other hand, he also expresses the poet's broad and heroic mind.
The language of this poem is simple and natural, full of the strong flavor of frontier life. It has both the interest of life and the flavor of human nature. It is fresh and bright, with a long aftertaste. It is written without any refinement, and it is written in a loose tone, and its emotions are sincere. . The poet is good at using artistic techniques to refine and summarize what many people are thinking and saying, making it have typical meaning. Liu Xizai, a native of the Qing Dynasty, once said: "Poems can be made in different places, and they will feel friendly and interesting." ("Summary of Art and Poetry") Zhong Xing commented on this poem: "It's just true." Tan Yuanchun said: "Everyone has it." This matter has never been written down, so it will not be repeated by future generations." (Volume 13 of "Return of Tang Poems") Shen Deqian said: "Everyone has the Chinese language in mind, but it has become a masterpiece." ("Collection of Tang Poems") Volume 19) It is simple yet shows rich charm, which can be deeply rooted in people's hearts and will not be forgotten for a long time. Cen Shen's poem has this characteristic.
"The long road to the east of my hometown" is written about the actual feelings in front of me. The poet has been away from his "hometown" for many days and is on his way to the Western Regions. Looking back at his hometown of Chang'an in the east is of course a long journey, and the feeling of longing cannot help but hit his heart, and the homesickness is hard to control. "Hometown" refers to my home in Chang'an. "Looking east" points out the location of Chang'an.
"The tears on both sleeves are not dry", which means that the tears of homesickness cannot be wiped away, so that both sleeves are wet, but the tears cannot be stopped. This sentence uses an exaggerated rhetorical technique to express the feeling of missing relatives, and also lays a good foundation for the following text to be sent home to "report safety".