Poems of West Lake in Early Spring in Bai Juyi's Eyes

Bai Juyi in Tang Dynasty: Spring Tour in Qiantang

From the north side of Gushan Temple to the west side of Jiating, the lake is just level with the embankment, with low clouds and waves on the lake.

Several early orioles raced to the sunny tree, and their new swallows were carrying mud in their nests.

Colorful spring flowers will gradually fascinate people's eyes, and shallow spring grass can barely cover the horseshoe.

I love the beauty on the east bank of the West Lake, and I can't get enough of it, especially the white sand embankment under the green poplar.

Vernacular translation:

Bypassing the north of Gushan Temple, strolling in the west of Jiagong Pavilion, the white clouds hang low at the beginning of the lake. Several warm trees that the oriole came out early competed for sunshine, and the new swallows were busy building nests and holding mud. Wild flowers will be dazzling when they are competing to open, and spring grass has just crossed the horseshoe before it grows tall. The beautiful scenery in the east of the favorite lake is unforgettable. Rows of willow trees pass through a white sand embankment.

Extended data

works appreciation

When Bai Juyi was in Hangzhou, there were many poems describing lakes and mountains. This poem captures the characteristics of the local environment and seasons, and depicts the West Lake, which has just put on a spring coat, as full of business and just right.

The first poem sticks to the theme and always writes about the lake. The previous sentence points out the location of Qiantang Lake and the surrounding "uneven towers". The use of two place names shows a sense of movement, indicating that the poet is walking and watching. On the front of the latter sentence, the lake is as bright as water: at the beginning of spring, the water surface is flush with the embankment, and the white clouds in the air are connected with the rippling waves on the lake, which is a typical water state of Jiangnan Spring Lake.

Zhuan Xu wrote about birds seen from looking up. Yingying is singing and swallows are dancing, showing the vitality of spring. Both the oriole and the swallow are messengers of spring, and the oriole sends the good news of spring back to the earth with its euphemistic and smooth voice. Swallows wear flowers and paste water, build nests with mud, and encourage people to start working in spring.

The word "several places" summarizes Ying Ge's call to the other and the poet's modality of seeking sound from left to right. The doubt about the word "whose family" shows the poet's delicate psychological activities and makes readers have rich associations. Writing with a neckband overlooks the flowers and plants you see. Because it's early spring, and it's not the season for flowers to bloom, what we see is not colorful flowers, but a cluster of flowers in the east and a cluster in the west, which is described by the word "chaos".

Spring grass does not grow luxuriantly, only it is not as long as horseshoe, so it is described by a word "shallow". The "gradual desire" and "talent" in this association are also the feelings and judgments of the poet's observation and appreciation, which makes the objective natural scenery become the scenery in the eyes with the poet's subjective feelings and infect readers.

These two couplets describe the scenery of the West Lake in detail, and express Yingying Yan's new arrival with "early", "new", "struggle" and "pecking". Using "chaos", "shallowness", "gradual desire" and "talent" to describe the thriving trend of flowers and plants accurately and vividly reveals the early spring weather that the poet felt while walking, giving people a fresh feeling.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Spring Tour in Qiantang River