The Night Rain Sends to the North
Dynasty: Tang Dynasty
Author: Li Shangyin
Original text:
Jun Wen The return date has not yet arrived, the night rain in Bashan swells the autumn pond.
Why should I cut off the candles from the west window and talk about the rainy night in Bashan?
Translation:
You ask about the return date, but it is difficult to say exactly. It rained heavily all night in Bashan and the autumn ponds were full.
When will I return, I will cut the candles from the west window and tell my face to my face how bad the rain is at night in Bashan.
Notes:
1. Send to the North: Write to people in the north. The poet was in Bashu (now Sichuan Province) at that time, and his relatives and friends were in Chang'an, so he said "Send to the North". This poem expresses the poet's deep nostalgia for his relatives and friends.
2. Jun: The honorific title for the other person is equivalent to "you" in modern Chinese.
3. Return date: refers to the date of return home.
4. Bashan: refers to Daba Mountain, at the junction of southern Shaanxi and northeastern Sichuan. This generally refers to the Bashu area.
5. Autumn Pond: Autumn pond.
6. When: When.
7. ***: Adverb, used before the predicate, indicates that the action occurs simultaneously by two or several actors ***. Can be translated as "together".
8. Cut the west window candle: Cut the candle to remove the burnt wick to make the light brighter. This describes a long conversation by candlelight late at night. "The rain in the west window" and "the candle in the west window" are used as idioms, and they are not limited to couples. Sometimes they are also used to write about the longing between friends.
9. But: to look back and recall.
To whom this poem is addressed, there are two opinions: friend and wife. The former believes that when Li Shangyin lived in Bashu, it was when he was working as an aide to Liu Zhongying, the governor of Dongchuan, from the age of 39 to 43, and before that, his wife Wang died. Holders believe that Li Shangyin had traveled to Bashu before this. Others believe that it was addressed to "relatives or friends." Judging from the passionate longing and lingering emotions shown in the poem, it seems more appropriate to send it to my wife.
The title at the beginning, "You have not yet heard of your return date," makes people feel that this is a poem that replaces letters with poetry. A large section of content is omitted before the poem. It can be guessed that the poet has received a letter from his wife before, in which he hopes that her husband will return to his hometown soon. The poet naturally hopes to go home and reunite as soon as possible. However, due to various reasons, the wish could not be realized for the time being. The first sentence reveals the pain of parting and the deep longing.
The second sentence "The rain at night in Bashan makes the autumn pond rise" is the poet telling his wife about his environment and mood. The rain at night in the autumn mountains always arouses people's sorrow and thoughts of separation. The poet uses this scene that makes people think of separation to express his infinite longing for his wife. It seems to make people imagine that on a lingering autumn night in autumn, the pond is full of water, and the poet is alone in the house, leaning on the bed and meditating. Thinking about his wife's life and state of mind at home at this moment; recalling their shared life together; chewing on his own loneliness.
Three or four sentences, "How can you cut off the candles from the west window and talk about the rainy night in Bashan?" This is a happy imagination of the future reunion. The loneliness and longing in my heart can only be pinned on the future. At that time, the poet returned to his hometown and whispered with his wife under the window of the west room. They were deeply in love and stayed up all night, so that the candles grew stamens. They cut off the stamens, but they still had endless feelings of separation and endless joy after being reunited. This poem not only describes the pain of loneliness when listening to the autumn rain in Bashan today, but also imagines the happiness and joy of gathering together in the future. The pain at this time is intertwined with the joy in the future, and time and space change.
The language of this poem is simple and smooth, and the emotion is sincere. "Bashan Night Rain" appears repeatedly at the beginning and end, which is soul-stirring. "When" closely follows "not yet", which effectively expresses the author's eagerness to return home.