Du Fu of the Tang Dynasty
Tonight in Yanzhou, I can only watch it alone in my boudoir.
I pity my children from afar, but I still remember Chang'an.
The fragrant mist makes the servant girl wet, and the clear jade arm is cold.
Whenever I lean on the virtual guise, my tears will dry under the double light.
Tonight, only one person in the boudoir could watch the bright moonlight in Yanzhou City alone.
I love the young children from afar, but I still can’t understand why I miss Chang’an.
The fragrant mist makes your temples wet; the cold moonlight makes your jade arms feel cold.
Whenever we lean together by the transparent curtain, let the moonlight shine on each other and wipe away the tears.
鄜(fū)zhou: Today's Fuxian County, Shaanxi Province. At that time, Du Fu's family members were in Qiang Village in Yanzhou, and Du Fu was in Chang'an.
Boudoir: inner room. Look, read kān in flat tone.
Lian: I think.
Unsolved: Don’t understand yet.
Yunhuan: refers to a towering ring-shaped bun.
Xuhoro: transparent window curtains. Cover, curtain. Double photo: Corresponding to the "Look alone" above, it expresses expectations for future reunion. Trails of Tears: Sui Palace Poetry "Sigh on the Battlefield" "The trails of tears are still there."
This is a poem in which Du Fu, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty, was imprisoned in Chang'an by the Anshi rebels and expressed his parting feelings by looking at the moon.
At this time, the poet's family was fleeing in Qiang Village, Yanzhou. Yanzhou, now Fuxian County, Shaanxi Province, was called Yanzhou in ancient times. In 1964, it was renamed Fuxian County due to the unfamiliarity of the word "鄜".
The poet learned that Suzong had ascended the throne in Lingwu, Ningxia, so he rushed to Lingwu from Yanzhou alone, but was unexpectedly captured by the rebels. In this August, when life and death are uncertain, looking up at the bright moon naturally makes me worry about my loved ones in Yanzhou.
The whole poem revolves around the moonlight night, and all imagination becomes extremely poignant and moving under the moonlight. Under this special moonlight, the image of a good father and a good husband emerges vividly on the page.
The first couplet, tonight in Yanzhou, I can only watch it alone in my boudoir. It means that tonight, only one person in the boudoir can watch the bright moonlight in Yanzhou City alone. The word "alone" expresses the helplessness and bitterness of the poet who cannot accompany his children. No father could bear to look at his child and look at the bright moon alone, but the poet could not break away from his imprisonment and fly to his child to watch the moon with him. Who caused the child to look at the moon alone? It was the Anshi Rebellion, which brought loneliness not only to the poet's children, but also to thousands of separated children. Therefore, this "independence" is still a ruthless accusation of the Anshi Rebellion.
The chin couplet expresses pity for the children from afar, but I still recall Chang'an. This sentence is written about children. It means that I love the young children from afar, but I still can't understand why I miss Chang'an. The word "Memory" can be understood as missing from a child's perspective. The child is too young to know that the poet is in danger and does not understand the feeling of missing him.
There is another level of understanding, which is the poet's memory of Chang'an in the past.
Chang'an used to be the largest city in the world, with 108 neighborhoods and a population of one million. Ancient Rome, the largest city in Europe, only had a population of 200,000. However, after the Anshi Rebellion, Chang'an has become an empty city, with no prosperity and devastation. This kind of memory is so sad and profound.
I don’t know why I miss Chang’an so much? Just because I love this country so deeply. The reason why the poet is called the "Saint of Poetry" and his poems are called "the history of poetry" is because the poet experienced the Anshi Rebellion, which tempered his will and gave him unique writing themes.
As the saying goes, when the country is unlucky, the poet is lucky, and his poems change when the vicissitudes of life happen. The poet who was caught in the Anshi Rebellion expressed the bitterness and pain of the separated people in a realistic way and became the recorder of an era.
The neck couplet is filled with fragrant mist and clouds, and the servant girl is wet. The clear and brilliant jade arms are cold. This sentence is written for his wife. He writes his old wife so beautifully. Du Fu is really a good father. This sentence means that the fragrant mist makes your temples wet; the cold moonlight makes your jade arms feel cold. Perhaps it was precisely because of her adversity that the old wife became so beautiful in Du Fu's eyes. This is a sign of affection for the old wife who fled with her children. Unlike the great poet Li Bai who had to knock on the door three times to survive his whole life, Du Fu only loved his old wife throughout his life. The word "fragrant mist" is Du Fu's poetic imagination and praise for his old wife.
In the last couplet, when I lean on the virtual cover, my tears will dry with double photos. It means when we lean together next to the transparent curtain, let the moonlight shine on each other and wipe away the tears. It expresses the poet's desire for peace and his beautiful vision for future reunions. The war will pass and our family will be reunited. A "lean" and a "photo" describe the joy that the poet imagined when they reunited.
This poem is not only Du Fu's personal "Moon Night", but also the "Moon Night" of every separated family during the An-Shi Rebellion. It is distant, cold, lonely, angry, helpless, and full of hope. It is a symbol of people's feelings in an era. *Some moonlit nights.