Creation background
This article is selected from Yaochi. Yaochi is a seven-character quatrain written by Li Shangyin, a poet in the Tang Dynasty. This poem is based on the myth of Zhou Muwang's westward journey meeting the Queen Mother, mocking the vanity of the emperor seeking immortality. The whole poem fictionalizes that the Queen Mother of the West can't expect to return, implies the story of the late King Mu, and shows the inevitable opposition between the delusion of seeking immortality and death.
Yaochi original work
The Queen Mother of the West opened the window on the Yaochi; The voice of bamboo songs is very sad.
Eight gentlemen went to Wan Li three times, why didn't you come back? ?
translate
The Queen Mother of the West opened the window on the Yaochi and only heard the sound of Huang Zhuge moving sadly.
Eight Jun's car Wan Li, three-day trip. Why did Zhou Muwang break the contract and never come again? ?
Extended data
works appreciation
In the late Tang Dynasty, several emperors were superstitious about the way of immortals, took elixir, sought immortality in vain, and even died of poisoning by taking elixir. This poem is a satire on the vanity of pursuing immortality.
This poem is based on the legend that the Queen Mother of the West met Zhou Muwang. Grasping the fact that the Queen Mother of the West hoped that the King Mu would "come back" and that the King Mu promised to come back, the author invented a plot in which the Queen Mother of the West hoped that the King Mu would come back: the Queen Mother of the West pushed open the carved window and looked at the East, but there was no sign of the King Mu, only the sound of "Huang Zhuge" moved the earth sadly.
The first sentence is the beautiful scenery of fairyland, and the second sentence is the sad scene of the world, which forms a strong contrast. This contrast has two meanings: first, the metaphor songwriter is dead, and only his songs are left in the world. Although fairyland is beautiful, why can't it be visited, which implies the irony of seeking immortality; First, the poem "Huang Zhuge" implies that the people are hungry and cold, while the rulers pursue immortality and hope to live forever, implying a rebuke to the rulers for pursuing immortality.
The last two sentences of the poem are about the psychological activities of the Queen Mother of the West when she didn't see Mu Wang: Mu Wang's eight horses galloped at high speed, and he could make three Wan Li in one day. It would be a piece of cake if he wanted to come, but why didn't he come as promised? The Queen Mother sincerely invited Mu Wang back. It is convenient for Mu Wang to promise to come again. He arrived in an instant with eight horses, but Mu Wang didn't come after all. Needless to say, Mu Wang is dead, and his death is self-evident.
However, the Queen Mother of the West is still waiting at the window. This shows that the Queen Mother of the West hoped that Zhou Muwang would not die, but this hope finally fell through. Even an immortal, such as the Queen Mother of the West, can't save Zhou Muwang from death, so the so-called immortal skills on the earth are naturally more unreliable, and they don't believe in the falsehood of seeking immortality.
Ironically, immortality was originally the subject of considerable discussion, but this poem was not discussed at all. The author's intention is completely melted in the actions and psychological activities of the Queen Mother of the West, and it is expressed with concrete and vivid images, and the conception is extremely ingenious. The last sentence is a question mark in the heart of the Queen Mother of the West, not a rhetorical question directly put forward by the poet. Therefore, although the irony of the poem is sharp and sharp, the expression is euphemistic and tortuous, not straightforward sarcasm and ridicule.
Brief introduction of the author
Li Shangyin (about 8 13-858), born in western Henan (xi) and Fan Nan, born in Xingyang, Zhengzhou (now Xingyang, Henan), was a famous poet in the late Tang Dynasty, and was also called "Little Du Li" with Du Mu, Li Shangyin and Li He.
Li Shangyin was one of the few poets who deliberately pursued the beauty of poetry in the late Tang Dynasty and even the whole Tang Dynasty. He is good at poetry writing, and parallel prose also has high literary value. His poems are novel in conception and beautiful in style, especially some love poems and untitled poems are touching, beautiful and moving, and are widely read. However, some poems (represented by Jinse) are obscure and inseparable, and there is a saying that "poets always love Quincy and hate that no one writes about Jian Zheng". ?
In the second year of Tang Wenzong (837), Li Shangyin became the first scholar, and served as secretary of the provincial school, bookkeeper of the school and commander of Hongnong. Because he was involved in the political whirlpool of "the dispute between Niu and Li", he was excluded and frustrated all his life. In the last years of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty (about 858), Li Shangyin died of illness in Zhengzhou and was buried in Xingyang, his hometown. It is also said that he was buried in Yongdian, Huaizhou (now Wangzhuang Town, Qinyang Mountain) at the foot of Qinghua Beishan, whose ancestral home is Dongyuan.