Spring trip to Qiantang Lake
Bai Juyi
Famous sentence: In several places, early orioles compete for warmth in the trees, while new swallows peck at the spring mud.
Introduction
Bai Juyi was appointed as the governor of Hangzhou in July of the second year of Changqing (822), and as the governor of Suzhou in March of the first year of Baoli (825). This poem is selected from Volume 20 of "Bai's Changqing Collection". It is a seven-character rhymed poem with a very distinctive description of scenery.
Qiantang Lake is the West Lake in Hangzhou. It has a pleasant climate, beautiful mountains and rivers, and a variety of buildings and buildings. It has been a tourist attraction since the Tang Dynasty.
Original poem
North of Gushan Temple and west of Jiating ①, the water surface is initially flat and the clouds are low ②.
In several places, early orioles are vying for warmth in trees ③, while new swallows are pecking at spring mud④.
The wild flowers gradually become charming⑤, and only Asakusa can have no horse hooves⑥.
My favorite part of the eastbound lake is the white sand embankment in the shade of green poplar trees.
Notes
① Gushan Temple: a temple on Gushan Mountain in Hangzhou. Gushan is located between Houhu and Waihu. It has unique peaks and quiet scenery. Jia Ting: During the Zhenyuan period of the Tang Dynasty (785-804), Jia Quan, the governor of Hangzhou, built a pavilion in the West Lake, which was called "Jia Gong Pavilion". It soon fell into disuse. ②The water surface is initially flat: The lake water is just as flat as the dam, that is, the spring water is first born. Cloud feet: Wandering like walking clouds. "The clouds are low" means that the floating clouds overlap and press very low, connecting them with the lake surface. ③Warbler: yellow warbler bird. Warm trees: trees facing the sun. ④Peck: Birds tap and catch things with their beaks. ⑤ Indiscriminate flowers: The flowers are in bloom and colorful. ⑥无(mò): cover up. ⑦Insufficient: not enough. ⑧Baisha Embankment: that is, Baisha Embankment. Broken Bridge Embankment, also known as Shijin Pond, is located outside the west gate of Hangzhou City and runs southwest along the embankment leading directly to Gushan. When spring comes, the peach and willow trees bloom on the embankment, and the scenery is beautiful.
Translated Poems
The scenery outside the Jia Gong Pavilion in the north of Gushan Temple is particularly beautiful.
The overlapping floating clouds on the flat lake appear too low.
Everywhere I see early-flying orioles vying to roost on sunny trees.
I don’t know which new swallows are busy spitting out spring mud.
The colorful flowers confuse people's eyes,
The green grass can just cover the horse's hooves.
My favorite thing is to take a walk on the east bank of the lake to enjoy the scenery.
See the green willows covering the white sand embankment.
Appreciation
This is a famous landscape poem by Bai Juyi, which was written around the time Bai Juyi was appointed governor of Hangzhou. The poem vividly describes the beautiful scenery that the poet saw while walking in the West Lake in early spring, as well as the vitality of all things bathed in the spring light, and expresses the poet's joy and praise of being intoxicated in the beautiful scenery of this good time.
The poem starts from a broad perspective, closely following the title and always writing about the lake. The first sentence describes the location, and the second sentence describes the perspective. "The water surface is initially flat" and the white clouds are hanging low. It describes the water and sky of the typical Jiangnan Spring Lake that I admired while walking, forming a peaceful ink painting of the West Lake. The middle two couplets carefully describe the scenery seen during the spring trip to the West Lake: "early orioles fighting for trees", "new swallows pecking at mud", "flowers blinding the eyes", and "grass without horse hooves", these are the most typical scenes in early spring. . The words "early", "new", "struggle" and "pecking" are used to express the new dynamics of the orioles and swallows; the words "chaos", "shallow", "gradual desire" and "talent" are used to describe the flourishing trend of flowers and plants. The last couplet briefly writes about the poet's favorite sand embankment on the east side of the lake, which can take in the whole lake's beauty. The whole poem is concluded with the word "line insufficiency", which points out that the scenery of the West Lake is so beautiful that the poet has not yet exhausted his enjoyment, and the readers also feel that they are still full of meaning after reading.
This poem is like a short and concise landscape travelogue. Starting from Gushan and Jiating to Hudong and Baidi, along the way, you can enjoy the scenery of green lakes, mountains and green mountains, which is as beautiful as heaven. You can enjoy the scenery of singing orioles and dancing birds, and be intoxicated by the singing of birds and the fragrance of flowers. Finally, with unfulfilled interest, I walked along the Baisha embankment under the shade of willows, turning back three times and reluctantly leaving. The whole poem has a strict structure, rigorous rhythm, neat dialogues, fluent language, vivid and natural, unique composition, and vivid descriptions. It is a famous poem about the scenery of the West Lake that has been passed down through the ages.