Cicada's Ancient Poems Yu Shinan's Pinyin Version

Cicada?chán

(Tang táng)?虞?yú?世?shì?南?nán

chuí?緌?ruí? Drink? yǐn?clear?qīng?dew?lù,

flow?liú?ring?xiǎng?out?chū?sparse?shū?tong?tóng.

Wind? fēng.

Expansion:

Notes

Ruí: the hanging part of the hat tassel tied under the chin by the ancients, the tentacles extending from the head of the cicada, The shape is somewhat similar to it.

Qinglu: pure dew. The ancients thought that cicadas lived by drinking dew, but they actually sucked the sap of plants.

Liu Xiang: refers to the continuous chirping of cicadas.

Sparse: open and sparse.

Borrow: rely on.

Vernacular translation

The cicada lowered its tassel-like tentacles to suck the clear and sweet dew, and a loud sound came from the tall and sparse sycamore branches.

It is precisely because the cicada makes its sound from a high place that its sound can travel far, not by the power of the autumn wind.

Background

Yu Shinan

After Li Shimin seized the throne from Li Yuan, Yu Shinan served as a bachelor of Hongwen Hall and became an important minister. However, he was never arrogant and down-to-earth and diligent, which made Li Shimin regard him as He was highly praised and highly appreciated, so he was often invited to participate in some ceremonial activities. One day, Li Shimin got up and invited the bachelors of Hongwen Museum to enjoy the scenery of the sea and pool, talk about poetry and painting. Li Shimin asked everyone if they had any new poetry works, and Yu Shinan recited the poem.