Lotus Picking Song
Tang Dynasty: Li Bai
A girl picking lotus is next to the Ruoye River, smiling through the lotus flowers and listening to people's words.
The sun shines on the new makeup, the water is bright, and the wind is fragrant and the clothes are lifted up in the air.
Who is wandering Yelang on the shore? There are three, three, five and five hanging poplar trees.
The purple crocodile hissed into the fallen flowers, and was heartbroken when he saw this hesitation.
Translation
Next to the Ruoye River in summer, beautiful lotus-picking girls gather lotus seeds in twos and threes. Across the lotus flowers, people are smiling, and the lotus flowers on their faces reflect the red color of each other.
The sun shines on the lotus-picking girl’s new makeup, and a bright light appears under the water. The wind blows, the clothes are lifted up in the air, and the lotus fragrance floats.
Whose You Yelang is wandering on the shore? Threes, threes, and fives lay in the shade of the weeping willow trees.
The neigh of the purple horse beside me rumbled, and the fallen flowers flew away one after another. Seeing this beautiful scenery, the poet hesitated and felt sad.
Comments
Lotus Picking Song: It belongs to Yuefu Qing Shang tune. It originated from Emperor Wu of Liang Dynasty, Xiao Yan and his son, and was imitated by many later generations.
Ruoye River: in the south of Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province today.
Sleeves: sleeves. Complete poem school: "One sleeve."
You Yelang: a young man who travels for fun.
Zicheng: a good horse with maroon coat.
Hesitation: wandering.
Appreciation
Li Bai’s poem expresses the beauty and purity of the lotus-picking girls of Wu and Yue among the lotus bushes, and also uses the wandering Yelang on the shore who cannot bear to leave to contrast the lotus-picking girls. Charming, it depicts a new image of a bright, lively and generous lotus-picking girl. The language is like water and hibiscus, natural and elegant, without any artificiality. It is completed in one go, showing the poet's elegant, fresh and refined posture. It makes up for the paleness and pretentiousness of the image of lotus-picking girls since the Six Dynasties.
The first sentence: A girl picking lotus by the Ruoye River, smiling across the lotus flowers and listening to people's words. Girls picking lotus flowers by the stream, chatting and laughing across the lotus flowers, playing with each other, or enjoying the gentle breeze and drizzle, or breathing lightly. The fields of lotus leaves and blooming hibiscus complement each other with the pink cheeks of the girl in the spring breeze. Just like what Wang Changling said in "Lotus Picking Song", "You can't see the chaos in the pool, but you can only feel someone coming when you hear the song." Across the lotus flowers, there seems to be something but not there. Hazy beauty, full of interest and full of life. "Laughing across Lotuses" vividly expresses the demeanor of the lotus-picking girl holding lotus flowers with her slender hands and chatting happily.
The second sentence: The sun shines on the new makeup, the water is bright, and the wind is fragrant and the sleeves are lifted up in the air. The gentle sunshine, thick new makeup, clear running water, and the charming wind-swept sleeves outline a fresh and bright picture of lotus picking, with a brisk rhythm, lively and natural. The lotus picker girl didn't know whether she was waving or playing with it deliberately. She raised her fragrant sleeves high. The new makeup carefully prepared by the lotus picker girl was reflected on the river. The most important thing was the way she lowered her head to look at the idle flowers in the water, revealing her shy demeanor. She was extremely shy. The blowing of the wind is like "looking at flowers in the front and rear mirrors, and the pictures reflect each other", making it difficult to distinguish between people and flowers. These two sentences outline the beautiful artistic conception of "Lotus can be picked in the south of the Yangtze River, and there are fields of lotus leaves." It is like hearing their voice, seeing their people, and being there. It makes people feel a sense of vitality and appreciate the heart of the lotus pickers. The joy of music is as the saying goes, "If the water chestnut can't sing clearly, I know it's in this pond."
The third sentence: Whose family is wandering Yelang on the shore, reflecting the weeping poplar trees. The laughter attracted You Yelang on the shore. I don’t know which young master was hiding under the weeping poplar trees. We can imagine how nervous the lotus picking girl would be when facing You Yelang on the shore. She is shy, and as the saying goes, "women only look good to those who please themselves", the joy that beats in my heart is beyond words. The shyness in Li Bai's works is not specified, but it can be imagined from "the sun shines on the new makeup, and the water is bright, and the wind blows and the sleeves are lifted up in the air". It has a bright and pleasant romantic mood, which is fresh and refined. The poet placed them among the verdant lotus leaves, and used You Yelang's wandering and scratching his head to highlight their beauty, and used Yuefu's technique of writing "Luofu" to make it more euphemistic and expressive.
The fourth sentence: Ziliu hissed into the fallen flowers and fell into pieces. Seeing this hesitation, he felt empty and heartbroken. The poet is riding a purple horse, the horse is neighing, the flowers are frightened, and the flowers are falling. Seeing the scenery in the sky makes people feel sad and heartbroken. This place is full of the poet's lament about the fleeting time and the unforgiving years, and his helplessness about the fleeting beauty of the scenery. It expresses the author's melancholy due to his unrecognized talents and unreachable ambitions. This is in line with his usual free and easy confidence, frankness, and freshness. The elegant style is different, and the delicate and gentle brushstrokes attract people's reverie. "Hesitating in an empty space with a broken heart" seems to be a heartbroken person at the end of the world. Just like in his "Drinking Alone under the Moon", he is aloof and accompanied by the moon and shadows. He still cannot avoid the feeling of vast loneliness and absolute loneliness. Li Bai, who has always been majestic and heroic, also has this feeling. The unavoidable sorrow of life.
The poet creates wind in his writing, making a song of picking lotuses. The scene is beautiful because of the emotion, and the emotion is strong because of the scenery. There is no suspicion of accumulation. It is fresh and natural, and still as romantic as ever.