"Peach and plum make their own way without words" means: I don't need to express my longing for you with mountain birds, just like peach and plum cannot speak, but a path appears below.
1. Source: "A Cut of Plum Blossoms·Visiting Jiangshan Mountain to Present Prime Minister Ye" by Xin Qiji of the Song Dynasty
Independent, confused and drunk, unable to return. As the sun sets and the weather turns cold, I'm going home. How long does it take to explore the plum blossoms and step on the snow? Now I come to think about it, the willows are Yiyi.
Baishigangtou is on the west bank of the bend. A piece of leisurely sorrow, the grass is luxuriant. Passionate mountain birds don’t need to cry. Peaches and plums are speechless, and they create a trail of their own.
2. Translation:
I was standing alone on the vast Zhongshan Mountain drinking. It was getting late, the weather had turned cold, and it was time to go back. Once upon a time, we walked through the snow together to look for plum blossoms, but now we say goodbye again. How will I miss you after you leave.
Baishigang on the west bank of the Yangtze River is covered with luxuriant grass, causing a lot of separation. My longing for you does not need to be expressed by mountain birds, just like peaches and plums that cannot speak, but a path appears below.
3. Appreciation
The first part of the poem recalls traveling to Zhongshan with Ye Heng, pointing out the specific place and time. It shows the author's loneliness, and the sunset and cold weather illustrate the desolation of the environment, thereby exaggerating a desolate and sad atmosphere, indicating that Ye Heng is about to leave Jiankang for the capital.
"How long have you been exploring plum blossoms and walking in the snow?", recalling the experience of walking in the snow to look for plum blossoms on Zhongshan Mountain with a friend. Friendship is also pure and noble.
"Now I come to think" and "Yangliu Yiyi" are poems in "The Book of Songs·Xiaoya·Caiwei", which are directly quoted by the author. They imagine that after their friends leave, they come back to Zhongshan alone. The desolate mood of "things are different and people are different" is transformed into ready-made poems, but there is no sense of artificiality.
The next part closely follows "Now I come to think about the willows." "The head of Baishi Gangtou curves to the west. There is leisure and sorrow, and the grass is luxuriant." A few sentences describe the specific scene after the friend left. : Baishi Gang is still covered with luxuriant grass, the scenery has not changed, but there are no people traveling with me, so my heart is full of melancholy.
"Sentimental mountain birds don't need to cry." is an emphasis on this kind of melancholy - if you don't need the passionate birds in the mountains to cry, you will feel melancholy in your heart.
The last two sentences quote the words praising Li Guang in "Historical Records: Biography of General Li" to show that Ye Heng's moral governance in Jiankang was praised by people, and Ye Heng himself was also loved by the people.
4. Background:
This poem was written in the spring of the first year of Chunxi (1174). The author served as an official in Jiankang for the second time and served as the counselor of the Jiangdong pacification envoy. Ye Heng was also a famous anti-golden figure at that time and had a close relationship with the author. Xin Qiji's appointment in Jiankang this time was also due to Ye Heng's recommendation. Ye Heng was recruited to the capital in February of that year, and this poem is about this incident.
5. Author:
Xin Qiji (1140-1207), a poet in the Southern Song Dynasty. His original name was Tanfu, changed to You'an, and his nickname was Jiaxuan. He was Han nationality and a native of Licheng (now Jinan, Shandong). His poems express the patriotic enthusiasm of trying to restore the country's unity, express his grief and indignation about the unrealistic ambitions, and condemn the humiliation of the then rulers for peace; there are also many works that sing about the mountains and rivers of the motherland. The subject matter is broad and he is good at using allusions from previous generations into the lyrics. The style is majestic and heroic yet not lacking in delicacy and tenderness.