Li Bai's poem: The fire shines on the sky and the earth, and the red stars are scattered with purple smoke. On a bright moonlit night in Nanlang, songs move the Han River. Translation: The fire is burning, red stars are splashing, purple smoke is steaming, and the vast world is illuminated by the red fire. Copper smelting workers sang while working on a bright moon night. Their singing broke the silence of the night and shook the cold rivers.
Seventeen Qiupu Songs (fourteen of them). In this poem, the poet is full of passion and sings an ode to workers, which is rare in Tang poetry and therefore makes it even more interesting. So precious.
Poetry Appreciation
1. Furnace fire. Some old annotations interpret it as the fire of alchemy, and some say it is the fire of fishermen. These explanations are inappropriate. Wang Qi of the Qing Dynasty believed that it was the fire of forging, and this view was generally recognized. Because according to the "New Book of Tang Geography", Qiupu is rich in minerals, especially silver and copper. The red light of the smelting furnace reaches the sky, so it can illuminate the heaven and the earth. Purple smoke has a unique color beauty. Li Bai likes to use this word.
2. For example, "Wearing a green fur coat, the purple smoke is blown away by the sleeves", "Pull out the green mist with bare hands, drag the purple smoke with the robe", and the famous "Purple smoke is produced by the incense burner in the sunshine" and so on. The "purple smoke" in the first two examples is the image in the fairyland that Li Bai was fascinated by, which is the so-called purple air and auspicious clouds. The latter category is natural scenes. The "Purple Smoke" sentence in this poem describes the red stars of the fire flying into the purple smoke.
3. The use of "purple smoke" instead of "thick smoke" not only downplays the hardship of the smelting craftsmen, but also gives this labor scene a beautiful and colorful color, and reflects the poet's understanding of the work. Capturing the beauty of color.
4. The word "Nanlang" was believed by some people in the old days to be a Wu dialect, a "singer's word to help the singer", that is, an onomatopoeia, a certain syllable sung by craftsmen. This theory is difficult to confirm. Nan refers to a blushing face, and Lang is an honorific for a man. "Nan" here is extended to the meaning of "red", and "Nanlang" refers to the smelting craftsman who is illuminated by the roaring fire. This explanation makes sense.
5. The craftsmen were still working hard in the cold night under the moonlight, shouting loud chants and singing rough folk songs. The songs spread far and wide in the cold night. The waves flying on the river and echoing in the valley not only made the atmosphere in the wilderness warm, but also drove away their own fatigue and fatigue, making the cold night seem less long.