Brief introduction of the author and works
Gong Zizhen (1792- 184 1), also known as Gong Zuo, was born in Se, whose name is Ding 'an, and he was born in Renhe, Zhejiang (now Hangzhou, Zhejiang). He was an outstanding enlightenment thinker, scholar, writer and patriot in modern China.
Central idea and writing characteristics
The whole poem expresses his complex feelings when he resigned from his post and left Beijing for a lawsuit, and shows the poet's strong character and dedication to serve the country at all times, not afraid of setbacks and unwilling to sink. The whole poem empathizes with things, with appropriate image, ingenious conception and profound meaning.
Contrastive translation and annotation
The sun sets (xiá), and the whip points to the horizon.
Full of sadness, facing the sky, I whipped the whip west and east, and then resigned and went to the end of the world. [Vast: boundless, here is endless sadness. Sorrow: the sadness of parting. Day: the sun. Whip: The poet's whip. ]
[Comment] The sadness is set off by "the sky is crooked" and "the end of the world", which shows the pain of the poet's resignation.
I quit my job and go home, just like a flower falling from a branch, but this is not a heartless thing. It can be turned into the soil of spring and can also play a role in nurturing the next generation.
Falling flowers are by no means heartless, but turning into spring mud is willing to cultivate more new flowers. [falling red: falling flowers. Most of these flowers are red. So falling flowers are also called falling red. These two sentences are used to describe that although he resigned, he still cares about the fate of the country. ]
The third and fourth sentences of this poem express the poet's wishes or ambitions. Even if he resigns from his post and retires, he will devote all his life energy and even his life. These two poems contain the philosophy that "falling red" seems useless, but from another angle, it can turn mud into flowers and still have value and function. It contains that everything in the world has two sides. "Useful" and "useless" are not absolute, but relative.
[opinion] vividly and aptly shows the author's heart of serving the country.