Gift to Wang Lun
[Tang Dynasty] Li Bai
Li Bai was about to leave in a boat when he suddenly heard singing on the shore.
The water in Peach Blossom Pond is a thousand feet deep, not as deep as Wang Lun’s love for me.
China’s traditional proposition is implicit. Yan Yu, a poetry critic in the Song Dynasty, proposed four taboos in poetry: "Avoid direct language, avoid shallow meaning. Avoid exposed pulse, avoid short taste." Shi Buhua, a Qing Dynasty man, also said that "avoid direct and noble music" in poetry. However, the performance characteristics of Li Bai's "A Gift to Wang Lun" are: frank, direct and rarely implicit. Its "speech is straightforward", its "pulse is exposed", and its "meaning" is not shallow, and its taste is stronger. When ancient people wrote poems, it was generally taboo to address people by name in their poems, as they thought it was tasteless. "To Wang Lun" begins with the poet calling him by his own name, and ends with calling the other party's name, which makes it seem sincere, cordial, free and easy, and full of affection.
The first half of the poem is a narrative: it first writes about the person who is leaving, and then the person who sees them off, showing a picture of parting. The sentence "take a boat" indicates that it is following a waterway. "The desire will be carried out" indicates that the boat is ready to go. This sentence makes readers seem to see Li Bai saying goodbye to people on the boat about to leave the shore.
"Suddenly I heard the sound of singing on the shore", and then I wrote about the farewell person. The second sentence is not as straightforward as the first sentence. Instead, it uses a musical composition and only says that it heard singing. A group of villagers stepped on the ground to the beat and walked and sang to see him off. This seemed to be beyond Li Bai's expectation, so he said "suddenly heard" instead of "distantly heard". Although this poem is relatively implicit, one can only hear its voice but not see its person, but people are ready to say it. Wang Lun's arrival was indeed unexpected. Hear the sound before anyone arrives. This kind of farewell shows that Li Bai and Wang Lun, two friends, are both informal, happy and free people.
The second half of the poem is lyrical. The third sentence is a distant connection, further explaining that the location of the boat is in Peach Blossom Pond. "A thousand feet deep" not only describes the characteristics of the pool, but also foreshadows the conclusion. The water of Peach Blossom Pond is so deep and deep, which touches Li Ren's feelings. Wang Lun's deep affection is unforgettable, and the water is naturally connected with deep affection. The concluding sentence bursts out with "It's not as good as Wang Lun's love for me", which vividly expresses the sincere and pure affection by comparing things with objects. The pool is "thousand feet deep", so the friendship between Wang Lun and Li Bai must be deeper. This sentence is thought-provoking. The wonderful thing here lies in the word "less than". The good thing is that it does not use metaphors but uses comparison techniques to turn the invisible friendship into a vivid image, which is ethereal and lingering, natural and true. The poet was very moved, so he used the two-line poem "The water in the Peach Blossom Pond is a thousand feet deep, not as deep as Wang Lun's love for me" to praise Wang Lun's admiration and love for the poet, and to express Li Bai's deep friendship for Wang Lun.