It describes the sound of snow falling heavily and deeply, and the snow is so heavy that it can break bamboo branches. It shows the silence of winter nights, and more importantly, it expresses the poet's feelings. Being sleepless all night also revealed the loneliness of the poet's mood.
Original text: I was surprised by the coldness of my pillow, but I saw the light from the window again. Late at night, I know the snow is heavy, and I hear the sound of breaking bamboo.
From: "Night Snow" by Tang Bai Juyi
Translation: The weather is cold, and people wake up from the cold in their sleep. They are surprised to find that the quilt covering them is already a little cold. In doubt, he looked up and saw that the window was brightly reflected. Only then did I know that there had been a heavy snowfall at night. The snow was so heavy that from time to time I could hear the sound of the bamboos in the courtyard being crushed by the snow.
Extended information:
This Wujue poem was composed in 816 AD (the eleventh year of Yuanhe). Bai Juyi was forty-five years old and served as Sima of Jiangzhou. Among the many products of nature, snow is unique. She has won the praise of countless poets throughout the ages with her pure white and crystal-clear natural beauty and her magical ability to decorate Guanshan.
Among the dazzling snow-songs, Bai Juyi's "Snow at Night" seems so ordinary, with neither color depiction nor gesture description. At first glance, it is simply inconspicuous, but upon closer inspection, If you taste it carefully, you will find that it is dignified and simple, fresh and elegant, and it is a small flower with unique style.
This poem is novel and unique, mainly because of its good intention. There are not many poems about snow at night, which is related to the characteristics of snow itself. Snow is silent and odorless, and can only be distinguished by color, shape, and posture. In the dark night, human vision is completely useless, and the image of snow is naturally impossible to capture.
However, Bai Juyi, who is willing to innovate, started from this special situation and avoided the frontal description techniques that people usually use. He used all side effects to vividly and vividly write about a snowy night.
There is neither color depiction nor gesture description in the poem, which makes it unremarkable at first glance. But if you taste it carefully, you will find that it is not only solemn and simple, fresh and elegant, but also novel and unique, with good intentions.
Just imagine, snow is soundless and tasteless, and can only be distinguished by color, shape, and posture. In the dark night, the image of snow is naturally difficult to capture. However, Bai Juyi, who is willing to innovate, started from this special situation.
It is described from the four levels of touch (cold), vision (bright), feeling (knowledge), and hearing (smell) in turn, with many twists and turns, showing its appearance, potential, and emotion. This little poem fully embodies the poet's easy-to-understand and clear language characteristics.
The whole poem is simple and natural, but full of charm; the poetic environment is plain and simple, without any trace of arrangement or delicacy. This is the inherent style of Bai Juyi's poetry.
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