"I urge you to drink another glass of wine, and there will be no old friends when you leave Yangguan in the west." This poem comes from the poem "Send Yuan Er Envoy to Anxi" by Wang Wei, a poet of the Tang Dynasty. It means: Old friend, please do it again. With a glass of fine wine, it’s hard to meet old relatives when you leave Yangguan to the west.
Original text of the work:
"Send Yuan Er Envoy to Anxi"
Wang Wei [Tang Dynasty]
Weicheng Rain and Light Dust , the guest house is green and the willow color is new.
I advise you to drink another glass of wine. There will be no old friends when you leave Yangguan in the west.
Vernacular translation:
A spring rain in the morning in Weicheng moistened the light dust, and the branches and leaves of the willow trees around the guest house were green and new.
My old friend invites you to drink another glass of wine. It will be difficult to meet old relatives when you leave Yangguan to the west.
Word and sentence annotations:
Anxi: refers to the Anxi Protectorate in the Tang Dynasty.
Weicheng: In the northwest of Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province today, it is the ancient city of Xianyang in the Qin Dynasty.
浥(yì): moistening.
Guesthouse: hotel.
Willow color: Willow tree symbolizes farewell.
Yangguan: Located southwest of Dunhuang in present-day Gansu Province, it has been an important route to the northwest frontier since ancient times.
Appreciation of the work:
This poem depicts a very common parting scene. It has no special background, but is full of deep attachment and concern. It is suitable for most farewell occasions, so it was included in Yuefu and became a widely circulated and long-sung song.
The poet captured the moment of farewell and made it eternal. My friend is about to travel far away, and will go to the borderland and the yellow sand all over the land. We say goodbye now, not knowing when we will see each other again. There are no words to express. I can only blend my feelings of farewell, all my care and blessings into a glass of parting wine.
“The morning rain in Weicheng is lightly dusted, and the guest house is green and willow is new.” These two sentences vividly describe the poet’s deep attachment and concern for his friend Yuan Er who is about to go to a desolate place. The first two lines of the poem describe the scene of spring, but also hint at the sadness of parting. Among them, "liu" and "liu" are homophonic, which are symbols of farewell. "Qingchen" and "guest house" also imply the purpose of travel and point out the time, place and environment of farewell. The last two sentences make it clear that the theme is farewell with wine. The poet expresses his deep affection for his friends by urging them to drink when they break up. Anxi, where my friend is going on this trip, is located in today's Kuqa County, Xinjiang. Wang Zhihuan, his contemporary, once said that "the spring breeze does not reach Yumen Pass." What's more, Anxi is outside Yumen, so its desolation and remoteness can be imagined.
Quatrains are strictly limited in length. This poem omits all the details of how to host a farewell banquet, how to frequently toast at the banquet, how to say goodbye attentively, how to be reluctant to leave when setting off, how to gaze into the distance after embarking on the journey, etc., and only cut out the host's words at the end of the farewell banquet. Suggestions for drinking: Let’s have another drink. Once we leave Yangguan, we will never see our old friends again. The poet is like a skilled photographer, taking the most expressive shots. The banquet has been going on for a long time, the wine full of farewell has been drunk many times, and the words of polite farewell have been repeated many times. The moment for the friends to go on their way finally has to come, and the feelings of farewell between the host and the guest are at this moment. reached the top. The host's words to persuade him to drink seemed to come out of his mouth, which was a concentrated expression of the strong and deep feelings of farewell at this moment.
Three or four sentences are a whole. To deeply understand the deep affection contained in this invitation to drink before leaving, we have to involve "Going out of Yangguan from the West". Yangguan is located at the western end of the Hexi Corridor, opposite Yumenguan to the north. Since the Han Dynasty, it has been the passage from the mainland to the Western Regions. The country was strong in the Tang Dynasty, and there were frequent exchanges between the inland and the Western Regions. Joining the army or going on missions to Yangguan was a desirable feat in the minds of the people of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. But at that time, the west of Yangguan was still a desolate and desolate area, and the scenery was very different from that in the mainland. My friend's journey out of Yangguan in the West was a great feat, but it also required a long journey of thousands of miles, and the hardship and loneliness of walking alone in poverty. Therefore, "I urge you to drink another glass of wine" before leaving is like a cup of rich emotional nectar soaked in all the rich and deep friendship of the poet. There is not only a feeling of farewell, but also a deep concern for the situation and mood of the traveler, and a sincere wish to cherish the journey ahead. For the farewell person, persuading the other person to "drink one more glass of wine" not only allows the friend to take away one more point of friendship from him, but also intentionally or unintentionally delays the breakup so that the other person can stay for one more moment. The feeling of "no one knows anyone before leaving Yangguan in the west" does not only belong to travelers. I had a lot to say before leaving Yiyi, but there were so many things to say that I didn’t even know where to start. On such occasions, there is often a wordless silence. "Persuading you to drink another glass of wine" is a way to break this silence unconsciously and a way to express the rich and complex emotions at the moment. What the poet has not said is much richer than what has been said. In short, although the three or four sentences capture only a moment of the scene, it contains an extremely rich moment.
Creative background:
This poem was written by Wang Wei when he was sending his friends to the northwest frontier. Later, a musician composed it and named it "Yangguan Sandie". Yuan Er was ordered to go to the Anxi Protectorate as an envoy. Wang Wei went to Weicheng to bid farewell to him and wrote this poem.
About the author:
Wang Wei (701-761, one theory is 699-761), also known as Mojie (jié), also known as Mojie layman. Han nationality, a native of Puzhou, Hedong (now Yuncheng, Shanxi), and his ancestral home is Qi County, Shanxi. He was a poet of the Tang Dynasty and was known as the "Poetry Buddha".
Su Shi commented on him: "When you taste Mojie's poems, there are paintings in the poems; when you look at Mojie's paintings, there are poems in the paintings." In the ninth year of Kaiyuan (721), he was promoted to Jinshi, Tai Lecheng. During the Tianbao period, he paid homage to the official doctor and gave him the title of Shizhong. During the Qianyuan period of Emperor Suzong of the Tang Dynasty, he served as Shangshu Youcheng, and was known as "Wang Youcheng" in the world. Wang Wei is a representative poet of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. He has more than 400 poems in existence today. His important poems include "Lovesickness" and "Dwelling in the Mountains in the Twilight of Autumn". Wang Wei was proficient in Buddhism and was greatly influenced by Zen Buddhism. There is a Buddhist "Vimalakīrti Sutra", which is the origin of Wang Wei's name. Wang Wei is famous for his poetry, calligraphy and painting. He is versatile and proficient in music. Together with Meng Haoran, they are collectively known as "Wang Meng".