The falling clouds and the lone wild geese fly together, and the autumn river and the vast sky are one and the same.
From "Preface to Prince Teng's Pavilion", it is a parallel prose written by Wang Bo, a litterateur in the Tang Dynasty, in the second year of Yuan Dynasty (675). The full text reveals the author's ambition and resentment at being underappreciated. Except for a few function words, the entire article is dual. The syntax is mostly four-character sentences and six-character sentences, which are neatly matched; and allusions are used almost throughout the text, which are used naturally and appropriately, appearing elegant and skillful.
The whole poem (excerpt) is as follows:
Pillowed with embroidered gates, looking down at the carved beasts, the mountains are wide and wide, and the rivers and lakes are so vast that they are horrified. Luyan rushes to the ground, the bells ring and the cauldrons are home; the boat and the boat are lost in the water, and the boat is like a green bird and a yellow dragon. The clouds are gone and the rain is clear, and the color is bright. The setting clouds and the solitary owl fly together, and the autumn water and the long sky are the same color. The fishing boat sings late, and the sound is heard on the shore of Pengli. The wild geese are frightened by the cold, and the sound is broken by the Hengyang Pu. (The axis is connected: Shun; the first work of Mijin: Mijin; the first work of Yunpin Yuji, the first work of Caiche District is: Hongpin Yuji, Caiche Yunqu)
The translation is as follows:
Open the carved pavilion door and look down at the gorgeous roof ridge. You can have a panoramic view of the mountains and plains, and the twists and turns of the lakes and rivers are amazing. The houses are densely packed with many wealthy people, and the ferry is crowded with boats, all of which are large boats carved with patterns of green birds and yellow dragons. When the rain passes, the rainbow disappears and the clouds disperse, and the sun shines brightly. The falling clouds and the lone wild goose fly together, and the autumn water stretches into the sky. In the evening, singing came from the fishing boat and reached the shore of Pengli Lake. The wild geese whined because of the cold and stopped at the shore of Hengyang.
Extended information:
Wang Bo (650-676), courtesy name Zian, was born in Longmen, Jiangzhou (now Hejin, Shanxi). The grandson of Wang Tong, a scholar in the late Sui Dynasty and a poet in the Tang Dynasty. In the fourteenth year of his life, he was awarded the title of "Chaosan Lang" in Yousu Science Division. Because his writing offended Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, he was exiled and roamed in Shu.
After joining the army in Guozhou, he committed a capital crime and was pardoned and dismissed. At the age of twenty-seven, he drowned and died of fright while crossing the South China Sea to visit his father. As a poet and writer, he is as famous as Yang Jiong, Lu Zhaolin and Luo Binwang, and is also known as the "Four Heroes of the Early Tang Dynasty".
During the reign of Emperor Gaozong, Yan Mou, the governor of Hongzhou, rebuilt this pavilion. On the ninth day of the second year of Shangyuan (675), he held a banquet for officials and guests in the Pavilion of King Teng. The author went south to visit relatives, passed here, participated in the grand gathering, composed an impromptu poem, and wrote this preface.
Baidu Encyclopedia - Preface to Tengwang Pavilion