Su Shi
The east wind is full of worship, and the fragrant fog turns to the corridor.
I was afraid that the flowers would fall asleep at night, so I lit candles and put on red makeup.
This quatrain was written in the third year of Yuanfeng (AD 1080), and Su Shi was demoted to Huangzhou (now Huanggang, Hubei).
The poet first described the begonia in the breeze and deliberately expressed its color. "East wind" is spring breeze, "curling" and breezy. "Worship" refers to noble and gorgeous brilliance. The meaning of this poem is: the breeze blows the begonia, and the begonia glows with gorgeous luster. The word "plate" is written in the moonlight, and the begonia flowers are swaying in the breeze.
The second sentence describes the fragrance of begonia under the moon. "The fragrance is vague", and it is refreshing to write that the fragrance of Haitang permeates the dense fog. "The moon turns to the cloister" means that the moon turns around the cloister, but the begonia flowers can't shine. In this case, begonia flowers can only give off fragrance in the lonely and dark night. Obviously, the begonia flowers at this time are fragrant. Therefore, the description of lonely night scenes here implies the poet's loneliness psychology.
The most wonderful thing is those three or four sentences. "Fear" in the sentence is anxiety, which vividly describes the poet's psychological activities of loving flowers and his reluctance to enjoy fun. "So" refers to the word "lest" mentioned above, which means that the poet has a soft spot for Haitang. These two poems are praised by later generations as "the strangeness of words and the cleverness of thoughts". "Strange" was often used as a metaphor for flowers in ancient times, but the author used empathy as a metaphor for people. In the poet's imagination, begonia flowers, like people, will fall asleep at night. This flower, which has accumulated a season of hard work and quietly blooms, is unexpectedly unappreciated. Is it too sad and disappointing for her? Obviously, Haitang is actually the poet himself, and the story that Haitang can only bow its head in the dark without moonlight is a portrayal of the poet himself. "I'm afraid of falling asleep at night" implies self-pity, but the poet is not depressed by it. From these vivid images of "east wind", "worship of light", "fragrant fog", "high candle" and "red makeup", we can clearly feel the poet's open mind.
Throughout the poem, the first two paragraphs show that the time for the poet to enjoy flowers is the moonlit night in spring, and it is a true way to describe the brilliance and fragrance of Haitang in the easterly moonlight, while the last two paragraphs describe the expression of Haitang, which is an imaginary way to write. The combination of reality and reality not only shows the elegant and refined beauty of begonia, but also expresses the poet's feelings of loving flowers, and even writes the life sentiment that talents don't meet. The language of the whole poem is simple, inclusive and not exposed, and it does not hurt the elegance.