"Bai Ye's poems are incomparable, and his floating thoughts are unparalleled" Translation: Li Bai's poems are unrivaled, and his superb talents are far beyond ordinary people.
Recalling Li Bai in Spring
Dynasty: Tang Dynasty
Author: Du Fu
Original text:
Bai Ye's poem Invincible, floating and thinking.
The fresh Yu opened his mansion, and the handsome Bao joined the army.
Spring trees in Weibei, dusk clouds in Jiangdong.
When a bottle of wine, important and detailed essays.
Translation
Li Bai's works are unmatched, and his superb talents are far beyond ordinary people.
Li Bai's poems have the freshness of Yu Xin's poems and the elegant style of Bao Zhao's works.
Now, I am alone in Weibei facing the spring trees, while you are far away in Jiangdong looking at the dusk and thin clouds. The sky is far apart, and we can only miss each other from a distance.
When can we drink together at the same table and discuss our poems in detail again?
Notes
⑴Out of the crowd: Extraordinary, superior to peers. This sentence explains the previous sentence, thinking is not group, so the poem is invincible.
⑵ Yu Kaifu: refers to Yu Xin. In the Northern Zhou Dynasty, he was the official of the Hsiao Cavalry General, and the three divisions (Sima, Situ, and Sikong) of Kaifu Yi were known as Yu Kaifu in the world.
⑶Junyi: One work is "heroic". Bao Shenjun: refers to Bao Zhao. During the Southern Dynasty and Song Dynasty, he served as a member of the Jingzhou Former Army and was known as Bao Canjun in the world.
⑷Weibei: The north bank of the Wei River refers to the area of ??Chang'an (today's Xi'an, Shaanxi Province), where Du Fu was at that time.
⑸Jiangdong: refers to the area in southern Jiangsu Province and northern Zhejiang Province, where Li Bai was at that time.
⑹Thesis: On poetry. Since the Six Dynasties, poetry has been generally referred to as prose. Detailed thesis: The first one is "softly spoken".
Appreciation
The friendship between Du Fu and Li Bai was first formed through singing. This Wulu poem in memory of Li Bai was mainly written from this aspect. The first four sentences are all enthusiastic praise for Li Bai's poems. The first sentence praises his poetry as being unparalleled in contemporary times. The second sentence is an explanation of the previous sentence, saying that the reason why he is "invincible in poetry" is that his thoughts and interests are extraordinary, so the poems he writes are unparalleled and unparalleled. Then the poem praising Li Bai is as fresh as Yu Xin and as handsome as Bao Zhao. Yu Xin and Bao Zhao were both famous poets in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. These four sentences are written vigorously and passionately. The two auxiliary words "ye" and "ran" in the first couplet not only strengthen the tone of praise, but also increase the weight of "poetry is invincible" and "thinking is unparalleled".
Du Fu always praised Li Bai's majestic and magnificent poems in his poems dedicated to or in memory of Li Bai. From the frank and sincere praise in this poem, we can also see that Du Fu admired Li Bai's poems very much. This not only expresses his great love for Li Bai's poems, but also reflects their sincere friendship. These four sentences are about remembering the person and remembering the poem. The hymn also means remembering the person. However, the author does not explicitly state this meaning, but naturally makes it clear by writing about separation in the third couplet. This treatment is not only concise, but also avoids straightforward narration, and allows the poetic meaning to be connected and twists and turns.
On the surface, the two sentences in the third couplet only describe the scene where the author and Li Bai are respectively. "Weibei" refers to the Chang'an area where Du Fu was located; "Jiangdong" refers to the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas where Li Bai was roaming. "Spring Trees" and "Higurashi Clouds" are simply stated without any modification or description. Taken separately, the two sentences are very ordinary and there is nothing special about them. However, the author organized them into a link, and there was a wonderful and close connection. In other words, when the author was in Weibei and missed Li Bai from Jiangdong, it was also the time when Li Bai was in Jiangdong and missed the author from Weibei; and the author looked at the south sky and saw only the clouds on the horizon, while Li Bai looked up to the north and saw only the distant sky. The color of the trees also shows the hatred of separation between the two people, just like the "spring trees" and "twilight clouds", which also carry a deep feeling of separation. The two poems involve the same infinite emotions on both sides. There is a lot of content in recalling all the good times we had together, and wondering about the situation after the two separated and the various situations at this time. These two sentences may seem plain, but in fact every word is refined; the language is very simple, but the connotations are extremely rich. They are famous sentences that have been praised throughout the ages. "Du Sui" quoted Wang Shenzhong as "the work of light and medium", which was highly praised.
The above description of separation is very deep and intense, which leads to the fervent hope in the last couplet: "When can we get together again and discuss poetry over wine like we did in the past!" To discuss poetry over wine, this is The author concludes with the most unforgettable and longing thing, which echoes the beginning of the poem. To say "regarding friendship" means that it has been like this in the past, which makes the current regret of not meeting again become more distant and deepens the memory of friends. The interrogative tone of "when" is used to express the desire to reunite as soon as possible, making the ending full of meaning and echoing the author's infinite thoughts.
Pu Qilong in the Qing Dynasty said: "This poem is purely based on the poetic conclusion." ("Reading Du Xinjie") shows the characteristics of this poem in content and structure. The whole poem starts with a hymn and ends with an "essay". It moves from the poem to the person, and from the person back to the poem. The transitions are extremely natural. There is a word "memory" running through the whole poem, connecting the person and the poem. The admiration and yearning for each other make them a perfect union. The technique of using scenes to convey emotions is even more superb, and the author's longing is written in a profound and lasting way.
About the author
Du Fu (712-770), courtesy name Zimei, called himself Shaoling Yelao, known as "Du Gongbu", "Du Shaoling", etc., Han nationality, Henan Prefecture A native of Gong County (now Gongyi City, Henan Province), Du Fu was a great realist poet in the Tang Dynasty. Du Fu was respected as the "Sage of Poetry" by the world, and his poems were called "the history of poetry". Du Fu and Li Bai are collectively known as "Li Du". In order to distinguish them from the other two poets Li Shangyin and Du Mu, known as "Little Li Du", Du Fu and Li Bai are also collectively known as "Big Li Du". He was concerned about the country and the people, and had a noble personality. About 1,400 of his poems have been preserved. His poetic skills are exquisite, and he is highly respected in Chinese classical poetry and has far-reaching influence. He lived in Chengdu from 759 to 766, and is commemorated by Du Fu thatched cottage in later generations.