Huaqing Palace
Wu Rong
There are flying snow and dark clouds in the surrounding suburbs,
Only in this palace is it falling.
Green trees and green curtains cover each other,
No one knows that it is cold outside.
Wu Rong's "Huaqing Palace" poems recorded in "Complete Poems of the Tang Dynasty" are divided into two groups, one group of two poems and the other group of four poems. This is the first song of "Two Songs from Huaqing Palace".
Huaqing Palace is closely related to the names of Tang Yunzong and Yang Guifei. For example, Du Mu's "Passing the Huaqing Palace Quatrains": "Looking back at Chang'an, there are piles of embroidery, and thousands of gates are opened on the top of the mountain. The red concubine on the horse is laughing, and no one knows that the lychees are coming." It chooses Concubine Yang to see the tribute lychees coming to Lishan Mountain. From the perspective of being in a happy mood, it reveals the sins of the ruling class for their own selfish interests and not caring about the suffering of the people. Wu Rong's poem "Huaqing Palace" has some similarities with Du Mu's poems in terms of themes and expression techniques. It uses small things to show the big things and exposes the extravagant and immoral Tang Xuanzong and Yang Yuhuan through the details in the Huaqing Palace. Although life imposes hardships on the people, the artistic conception created is unique.
The first sentence, "There are flying snow and dark clouds in the suburbs," focuses on the heavy snow outside the Huaqing Palace. The word "fly" has a dynamic beauty, depicting the scenery of the suburbs of the Forbidden City where the wind is whistling and snowflakes are flying; the word "dark" depicts the power of the heavy snowfall from the perspective of color, and the visual experience evokes the sense of touch. Feeling, it is very easy to appreciate the biting chill outside the palace from the poem's picture, giving people a chilling feeling.
The second sentence "Only in this palace Xueluo falls", the writing direction shifts from outside the palace to inside the palace. The word "wei" limits the special scope of Xueluo, and the word "xuan" changes from the time of time. The angle vividly describes the scene of the Snowfall Palace Garden rapidly dissolving and disappearing, and implicitly describes the warmth in the palace, which contrasts with the first sentence.
The third sentence, "Green trees and green curtains cover each other," concretely and vividly depicts the harmonious spring atmosphere in the palace. The underground hot springs of Huaqing Palace are gushing, the above-ground palace is magnificent, and the forbidden walls are high to protect against wind and cold. Therefore, the temperature in the palace is relatively high, and the trees are green all year round. The "green trees" here represent the difference between the natural creators in the palace and those outside the palace, while the "green curtains" reflect the luxurious life of the owner in the palace.
The concluding sentence "No one knows that it is cold outside" depicts the mediocre image of the owner of Huaqing Palace who is indulgent in emotions, does not take state affairs as a priority, and does not worry about the people's suffering. The poet implicitly points out: Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty Since he doesn't even know the changes in phenology in nature and the arrival of winter, how can he know "cold"? If the king of a country doesn't know the feeling of cold, how can he keep a clear eye on state affairs and keep the people's joys and sorrows in mind? Such mediocre people provided the soil for the birth and growth of An Lushan's ambitions, consciously and unconsciously.
The artistic conception of this poem is novel and the irony is implicit. The contrast between the cold and warm inside and outside the palace forms a sharp contrast, causing the structure to be scattered and the poetry to be ups and downs. The successful use of exaggeration has also become one of the artistic features of this poem.