Appreciation of "Po Qinhuai"
Po Qinhuai
Du Mu
The smoke cage is cold, the moon is caged in the sand, and the Qinhuai is near the restaurant at night.
Shang girls don’t know the hatred for the country’s subjugation, but they still sing the flowers in the backyard across the river.
Note:
Qinhuai: the Qinhuai River. It is said that during the Qin Dynasty, Zhongshan was dug to drain the Huaihe River, so it was called the Qinhuai River.
Smoke cage, cold water, moon cage and sand: This is a syntax of intertextual meaning, that is, "smoke" and "moon" both cover "water" and "sand".
Shangnu: a singer who sells her songs.
River: This refers to the Qinhuai River.
The Flowers in the Back Courtyard: That is, "The Flowers in the Back Courtyard of Yushu" was written by Chen Houzhu, and later generations regarded it as the sound of the country's subjugation.
Appreciation:
Shen Deqian commented on this poem as a "swan song" in "Collection of Tang Poems". Among the works of similar themes by poets of the late Tang Dynasty, this poem by Du Mu can be said to be the best. The poet expressed his deep emotions by writing about what he saw and heard when he stayed in Qinhuai at night. At the same time, it reveals the decadent life of the upper-class figures in the ruling group of the late Tang Dynasty who indulged in sex and drunkenness. From the Eastern Jin Dynasty to the Song, Qi, Liang, Chen and other dynasties, all of them established their capitals in Jinling. The Qinhuai River became the so-called "gold powder" place for wealthy nobles, bureaucrats and scholar-bureaucrats to have fun and indulge in sensuality. After the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, although the capital was in Chang'an, the situation of the Qinhuai River remained the same as before. The poet stayed in Qinhuai at night, witnessed the red lights and green wine, heard the beautiful music, and fell in love with the scene, so he wrote this famous poem that has been passed down for thousands of years. The first sentence describes the scenery. What the poet describes is a picture of hazy moonlight, light smoke and mist, shrouding cold water. The night on the Qinhuai River is so dark and desolate, which colors the environment and creates the atmosphere for the whole poem. The second sentence uses "Night at Qinhuai" to point out the specific location of the scenery described in the previous sentence, and "near the restaurant" leads the last two sentences and brings out the characters. From the description of these two sentences, we can see the meticulousness of the poet's artistic conception and the ingenuity of his artistic expression. If you follow the general writing method, with the second sentence first and the first sentence after, it will look straight and dull. Now the poet starts with the melancholy moonlight scenery of Qinhuai, which gives people a strong impression. At the same time, he continues with the second sentence, making the poem seem ups and downs. The last two lyrical lines are the focus of the whole poem. These two sentences lead from "restaurant" to "business woman", and from "business woman" to the singing of "Yushu Backyard Flowers"; from visual to auditory, the narrative is lyrical, and the lyrical is discussion. The object of the poet's lashing is no longer "business women", but those high-ranking officials who are drunk and dreamy, regardless of the safety of the world. At the same time, the poet's concern for the country is self-evident. The whole poem is very ingenious in its conception, its words are close and its purpose is far-reaching, and its implications are profound. It is an excellent chapter among Du Mu's seven unique poems.