Appreciation
In the twenty-fifth year of Kaiyuan (737), Wang Wei was ordered to go to Xihe Jiedushi Mansion to express condolences to the soldiers. This poem was written by the poet on his way to Xihe. This is a chronicle poem. The poet went to the frontier fortress on a royal mission. The poem describes what he saw and felt during this mission.
The first two sentences explain why the poem was written and where it was written. "Want to ask about the side" is the purpose of the mission. "Bicycle" means that there are few followers and the standards of etiquette are not high. The poem reveals a hint of frustration in the chronicle and scenery, and this emotion is triggered by the word "bicycle". The last sentence says that he has experienced the special area of ??"Juyan", which becomes the basis for the scenery described in the poem.
The third and fourth sentences contain multiple meanings. From the word "Guiyan", we know that the time of this mission to the frontier is in spring. When Pengcao matures, its branches and leaves dry up, its roots leave the earth, and blow in the wind, so it is called "Zhengpeng". This sentence is the poet's use of fluffy grass to express his feelings of wandering. When ancient poems mention fluffy grass, most of them lament their own life experience. For example, in Cao Zhi's "Miscellaneous Poems" (Part 2), it is said that "turning away from the roots, fluttering with the long wind" is a famous example. The word "out of the Han Dynasty" in this poem exactly reflects the poet's trip; moreover, these three words have a strong flavor of a foreign country, which deepens the feeling of wandering. Leaving a country and leaving one's hometown always has complicated emotions, whether it is because it is difficult to escape from home or country, or because of a mission as in this poem. Probably the poet was already in a bad mood during this mission, and it was different from the majesty and style of Sima Xiangru of the Han Dynasty who first gained the favor of Emperor Wu when he went on a mission to the southwestern barbarians. The poet's frustration may be related to the political struggle in the court. Prime Minister Zhang Jiuling, who always valued poets, was demoted to Jingzhou Governor in April this year.
The poem adopts the writing method of pairwise comparison. "Zheng Peng" is a direct ratio to the poet, while "Gui Yan" is a contrast to the poet. In the spring scenery, the geese returning to their old nests to raise their young are in their right place; the poet is facing the desert wind and sand like fluffy grass drifting to the outside of the Great Wall, and the scene is completely different.
The fifth and sixth sentences describe the scenery, the realm is vast and the atmosphere is majestic. This couplet consists of two pictures. The first picture is the solitary smoke in the desert. Being in the desert, what unfolded before the poet's eyes was this scene: boundless yellow sand. Looking up at the sky, there is no cloud shadow in the sky. No vegetation is seen, and travel is cut off. Looking far into the distance, he saw a wisp of smoke rising at the end of the sky. The poet's spirit was lifted, and he seemed to feel that the desert was a little alive. That is the beacon smoke, which tells the poet that the trip is about to reach its destination. The beacon smoke is a typical scenery of the frontier fortress. The "straight smoke" highlights the atmosphere of the frontier fortress. From the perspective of picture composition. Adding a column of white smoke between the blue sky and yellow sand becomes the center of the entire picture, which is the finishing touch. "Kunya": "In ancient fireworks, wolf smoke was used to keep it straight and gather it, even if the wind blows it, it will not tilt." Zhao Diancheng of the Qing Dynasty said: "Those who see the scenery in person will know how good the word 'straight' is." Again, from the wording point of view.
Another scene is the sunset over the long river. This is a close-up. The poet is probably standing on a hilltop, overlooking the winding river. It was evening, the setting sun hung low on the river, and the river water shone with sparkling waves. What a wonderful moment this is! The poet only uses the word "circle" to accurately describe the characteristics of the sunset on the river. Due to such a perspective, it suddenly appears that the red sun appears in and out of the long river, which adds to the majestic momentum of the river swallowing up the sun and the moon, making the whole picture even more majestic and magnificent.
The last two sentences conclude with events: Asking the protector where he is at this time, the poet's mission is about to be completed. The ending of the poem is done naturally.
Although this poem is a travelogue, it expresses emotions or describes exotic scenery. It was written naturally and naturally. The couplet "Long River" and "Sunset" is extremely outstanding and has always been recited as a famous line describing the scenery.
Notes
[1] Asking the border: Condolences to the soldiers at the frontier.
[2] Subject country: The abbreviation of the classic subject country, which refers to the envoys. Here, Wang Wei refers to himself. Juyan: There was a vassal state of Juyan in the Eastern Han Dynasty. According to "Yuanhe County Chronicles": Ju Yanhai was located in the northeast of Zhangye County, Ganzhou (now part of Inner Mongolia).
[3] Zhengpeng: fluffy grass flying in the wind.
[4] Xiaoguan: Southeast of Guyuan, Gansu Province today. Waiting for cavalry (pronounced Jiji) is a patrol on horseback.
[5] Duhu: The highest administrator of the Duhufu, referring to the Hexi Jiedushi in the poem. Yanran: The name of the mountain. Dou Xian, the chariot and cavalry general of the Later Han Dynasty, defeated the Xiongnu and climbed Yanran Mountain to carve stones to commemorate his achievements. The poem refers to the victory of the Hexi Army.