Ambition Wang Ji of the Tang Dynasty
Original text
Donggao looks forward to the sunset, where can I rely on when I move?
The trees are all in autumn colors, and the mountains are only covered with sunset.
Herdsmen drive calves back, hunting horses return with poultry.
We look at each other but have no acquaintance, and we sing and pick up the flowers in our hearts for a long time.
Note:
① Selected from the volume of "Donggaozi Collection". Wang Ji (about 598-644), courtesy name Wugong, was born in Longmen, Jiangzhou (now Hejin, Shanxi), and was a poet of the Tang Dynasty. ② Donggao (gāo): The place where the poet lives in seclusion. ③ Dusk: evening. ④ Migration: wandering. ⑤Yi: Refuge. ⑥Luo calf (dú): calf.
⑤Huai Caiwei: Using the allusion of Boyi and Shuqi hiding in Shouyang Mountain to collect weeds and eat them, it expresses the meaning of hiding from the world. Wei, is a kind of plant
⑥Luohui: the setting sun. ⑥Twilight: evening.
Translation
In the evening, I stood in Donggao and looked into the distance,
I was wandering and unsure where to turn,
layer by layer The woods are all dyed with autumn colors,
The mountains are covered with the afterglow of the setting sun.
The herdsmen drove the cattle back home,
Hunting horses and birds and beasts galloped past me.
We are relatively silent and do not know each other.
I scream and sing and really want to live in seclusion in the mountains!
Appreciation
"Ambition" describes the autumn scenery of the mountains and fields. In a leisurely mood, there is a bit of hesitation and depression. It is Wang Ji's masterpiece.
The whole poem reveals the lonely and melancholy mood in the description of the bleak and quiet scenery.
"Dong Gao looks at the dusk, where can I rely on?" Gao is a land by the water. Donggao refers to a place in Longmen, Jiangzhou, his hometown. After he retired to seclusion, he often traveled to Beishan and Donggao, calling himself "Donggaozi". "Yiyi" means wandering. "Where can I rely on?" is adapted from Cao Cao's "Dan Ge Xing", which means "the moon and stars are sparse, the black magpie flies south, and it circles the tree three times, and there is no branch to rely on", expressing the bored and hesitant mood.
The following four sentences describe the scenery seen in the dusk: "The trees are all in autumn colors, and the mountains are only covered with sunset. The herdsmen drive their calves back, and the hunting horses and birds return." Looking around, there is autumn color everywhere. It looked increasingly bleak in the afterglow of the setting sun. Against this quiet background, close-ups of the shepherd and hunting horses bring a pastoral pastoral atmosphere to life, making the entire picture come alive. These four poems are like an autumn evening picture of a mountain home, with light and color, distant view and close-up view, static and dynamic, all perfectly matched.
However, Wang Ji could not find solace in the countryside like Tao Yuanming, so he finally said: "We look at each other without knowing each other, and we sing and pick flowers for a long time." He said that he was lonely and helpless in reality, so he had no choice but to reminisce about ancient times. The hermit made friends with people like Boyi and Shuqi.
Those who are familiar with Tang poetry may not think that this poem has any special benefits. However, if you follow the order of poetry history, starting from the Song, Qi, Liang, and Chen Dynasties in the Southern Dynasties, and suddenly read this poem "Ambition", you will be applauded for its simplicity. Most of the poetry styles of the Southern Dynasties are extravagant and gorgeous, like a jeweled lady wrapped in silk and satin. Walking out of the crowd of ladies, you suddenly meet a village girl in a Jingchai sarong. Her simple beauty without makeup will produce a special charm. Wang Ji's "Ambition" has such a simple benefit.
The genre of this poem is five-character poem. Ever since Shen Yue and others applied the knowledge of rhythm to poetry creation during the Qi Yongming period of the Southern Dynasty, the new genre of rhythmic poetry has been brewing. By the time of Shen Quanqi and Song Zhiwen in the early Tang Dynasty, the rhythmic poetry was finalized and became an important poetry genre. Wang Ji, who was more than sixty years earlier than Shen and Song Dynasties, could already write mature verses such as "Ambition", which shows that he is a person who has the courage to try new forms. The first and last couplets of this poem express emotions, and the middle two couplets describe scenery. Through the repetition of emotion-scenery-emotion, the meaning of the poem deepens. This is in line with the basic structure of rhythmic poetry.