There is no news from the Kunlun envoy, and the smoke and trees in Maoling are sad.
The jade dew drips from the golden plate, and the vitality cannot be collected.
The stone inscriptions on the back of the unicorn are cracked, and the red branches are broken under the scales of the horned dragon.
Where does it hurt the hearts of all nations? In the middle of the sky, the moon shines brightly for a long time.
Preface
"The Kunlun Envoy" is a seven-character poem written by the Tang Dynasty poet Li He. The first four sentences of this poem say that there is no news about the Kunlun Envoy that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty hoped for. , but he himself was already dead; although there was dripping jade dew in the golden plate, he could not receive the vast vitality. The last four sentences say that the limbs of the stone unicorn and stone hornet dragon in front of Emperor Wu's tomb have been broken. The most sad thing is that under the bright moon, everything is out of order, leaving only the lonely tomb. The author uses this to show that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's ambition to conquer all nations and his delusion of seeking immortality came to nothing, and those who come after him should take this as a warning.
Comments
①Kunlun Messenger: Refers to the blue bird who serves as the messenger for the Queen Mother of the West. "The Classic of Mountains and Seas: The Northern Classic of the Sea" records that the Queen Mother of the West lives in Kunlun Mountain, and there are three bluebirds that feed her and send messages. According to "The Story of Han Wu", the Queen Mother of the West sent an envoy to see Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and arranged to meet. Emperor Wu once asked the Queen Mother of the West for the elixir of immortality.
②Maoling: The tomb of Liu Che, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, is located in Xingping County, Shaanxi today. Smoke tree: lush trees shrouded in clouds and mist. Melancholy: a sad and gloomy atmosphere.
③Jade Dew on a Golden Plate: Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was superstitious about gods in his later years. He built a platform in the palace in Chang'an and cast a gold and steel immortal on it, holding a copper plate in his hand to catch the dew. According to superstition, this kind of dew mixed with jade shavings can lead to longevity. dripping: refers to the appearance of wet or dripping dew.
④Vital energy: refers to the essence between heaven and earth. Alchemists believe that drinking it can lead to immortality.
⑤Qilin: a rare and auspicious beast in ancient legends. This refers to the stone unicorn in front of the mausoleum.
⑥Qiulong: This refers to the dragon carved on the red lacquer pillars of the dormitory. Qiu: The legendary hornless dragon.
⑦Wanguo: namely Kyushu. Refers to all parts of China.
⑧Zhongtian: In the middle of the sky, refers to the sky above Maoling.
Translation
The sacred bird of the Queen Mother of the West has not yet brought back the message of immortality, but the smoke trees in Maoling are already deeply stained with sadness. The golden plate in the palace is still receiving the jade dew, but the vast vitality cannot be collected. The stone beasts on the tomb passage have early cracks on their backs, and most of the scales of the stone horned dragons are missing. What makes people all over the world sad is not the bright moon hanging high over the tomb all night long.
Appreciation
This poem uses the technique of borrowing from the past to satirize the present. It uses Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to seek immortality in vain, to mock Tang Xianzong for taking medicinal stones in order to seek immortality, which is absurd and harmful to the country. The emperor's foolish behavior in pursuit of immortality was bitterly satirized.
The first couplet "There is no news from the Kunlun envoy, and the smoke and trees in the mausoleum are full of sadness." Xu Yu started writing, "There is no news" and "There is sadness." In contrast, the background of the poem is traced back to myths and legends. , and focused attention on Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Although Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty pursued immortality, drank jade dew and absorbed vitality, he was still buried in Maoling and passed away. This shows that human beings cannot resist the natural law of birth, aging, illness and death.
The chin couplet "The gold plate and the jade are dripping with dew, and the vitality is endless." Although there is no word "sorrow", "sorrow" is an image carefully constructed by the poet. , The golden plate bears the dew, and the inability to live forever is a worry. The prolongation of the sorrow, the ruined scene of Maoling, gives people a thrilling feeling. Therefore, the poet believes that the most sad thing is the sky above Maoling. The bright moon in the sky. The most deplorable thing is that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was in vain in his pursuit of immortality. The people of the Tang Dynasty had the habit of talking about the Tang Dynasty through Han Dynasty, so the satire on Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was actually realistic.
< p> "The stone inscriptions on the back of the unicorn are cracked, and the red branches are broken under the scales of the horned dragon." The two sentences illustrate that all materials in nature are changing and developing. The unicorn made of boulders will crack over time, and the horned dragon carved on the thick palace pillars will one day have its limbs broken off. It can be seen that the idea of ??immortality is very absurd. This reflects Li He's simple materialism.The last sentence is that only this bright moon can illuminate the vicissitudes of the world. He is a witness to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's attempt to seek immortality, and also a witness to the fact that today's kings are obsessed with this way and have misled state affairs. Although Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had the superstitious idea of ??seeking immortality, he was still an emerging landlord class that played a progressive role in history. An outstanding politician, the author also expressed his pity for him in the poem.
This poem starts from praising Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty for his ambition, but laments that life, old age, illness and death are irresistible. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty is used to satirize Tang Xianzong's wishful thinking, and is intended to oppose such absurd things as taking medicinal stones to seek immortality. The mood of this poem is sad, the writing style is strange, and the emotion is cold.