Original text of Changgexing:
The peaches and plums are waiting for the sun to bloom, and the glory will shine as before. The east wind moves all kinds of things, and the grass and trees are full of words. The dead branches have no ugly leaves, and the dry water spits out clear springs. He moves the heaven and earth vigorously, and Xihe whips without stopping. If fame is not announced early, how can it be announced on bamboo and silk. Peaches and plums are young, who can live in the daytime? Wealth and immortality are wasted. Gold and stone are still sold, and wind and frost have no lasting quality. Afraid of the setting sun and moon, I force myself to sing and drink wine. The autumn frost does not care about people, and suddenly invades the Pu Liu. Translation and annotation by Changgexing
Translation The peach and plum blossoms bloom in the sun, and the flowers are colorful, decorating the new year. The east wind has revived all things, and the grass and trees seem to be happy and eager to talk. Beautiful new leaves sprouted from the dead branches, and clear springs gurgled in the dry streams, full of life. Creation moves the heavens and the earth, and the sun keeps racing on its chariot. If you don't establish your reputation early, how can your name be written in the history books? Peaches and plums must wait for spring, but who can make spring last forever? Time waits for no one, and both wealth and immortality will pass by. The strength of gold and stone will be eroded away, and nothing can last forever under the wind, frost, sun and moon. I am deeply afraid that the sun and the moon will pass by in a flash, so I sing and drink wine, pretending to be happy. Just like the willow tree under the frost in autumn, all of a sudden, old age is approaching and the body is already declining!
Notes 1 Changgexing: old title of Yuefu. Volume 30 of "Collection of Yuefu Poems" is listed in "Xianghe Ge Ci Ping Tiao Qu", which is one of the seven Ping Tiao tunes of Xianghe Ge in Yuefu. Explanation of the title: "Yuefu Explanation of Problems" says: "An ancient poem goes like, 'Sunflowers in the green garden, morning dew waiting for the sun.' It means that youth is not long, and you should work hard to be happy. It will be sad if you don't reach the end." Wei Gai reported to Emperor Wen. The poem "How High is the Western Mountain" states that the immortal path is vast and cannot be discerned, like Wang Qiao and Chisong. They are all empty words, bizarre and difficult to describe. It is just a matter of observing the holy path. If Lu Ji "passes away and passes through the sky, his sorrow will be brought to the earth and rivers", then it is said that people's fate is short, and they should sing long songs while riding, which is consistent with ancient prose. The ancient songs of "Long Song Xing" are not handed down today, but there are nearly ten poems and lyrics, and this one by Li Bai is one of them. 2 Wait: One word is "get". 3. Prosperity: lush vegetation and flowers. "Xunzi: Kingship": "When the vegetation is flourishing and flourishing, an ax cannot enter the mountains and forests." 4 East wind: spring breeze. One of Li Bai's poems "Drinking Alone in Spring": "The wind blows in the east, and the spring light shines on the water and trees." Baiwu: Just like all things. "Book of Rites·Sacrifice": "The Yellow Emperor corrected the names of hundreds of things to make the people more wealthy, and Zhuanxu was able to repair them." 5 "Dead branches" sentence: It means that dead branches give birth to new leaves, all of which are lovely. 6 Xi (xī) and: a character in ancient myths and legends. The god who drives the sun's chariot. "Chu Ci·Li Sao": "I ordered Xihe to destroy the festival, look at the concubine without force." Wang Yi's note: "Xihe, the emperor of Japan." 7 Bamboo silk (bo): Bamboo slips and white silk, early ancient times No paper, writing on bamboo and silk. By extension, it refers to books and historical records. "Historical Records·Xiaoben Chronicle": "Then the merits of the ancestors are written on bamboo and silk, and they will be used for all generations, forever and ever. I highly appreciate it." 8 tasks: Need. Youth: refers to spring. In spring, the vegetation is lush and its color is green, hence its name. "Chu Ci·Dazhao": "Youth is thanked, and the sun shines brightly." Wang Yi notes: "Qing, the spring position in the east, its color is green." 9贳 (shi): Lend, credit. Shi Cuō (tuo): frustrated; wasting time. Xie Tiao of the Southern Dynasty wrote in "He Wang Changshi was ill": "The days and years are fleeting, and the regrets are accumulated in the wasted time." ⑾ Sales (shuo): melt, wear away. Han Meicheng's "Qifa": "Although it is as strong as gold and stone, it will still be broken when it is smashed." ⑿ Huan: one means "drink". ⒀Shū: Swift appearance, describing unexpected speed. "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals: Decisive Victory": "They come and go suddenly, but they don't know where they are going." Puliu: that is, water poplar, a tree that withers in autumn. Pu and willow both lose their leaves early, which is used here as a metaphor for premature aging of human beings. Liu Yiqing of the Southern Song Dynasty's "Shishuo Xinyu·Yu Chapter": "The posture of the willows is falling in the autumn, and the posture of the pines and cypresses is luxuriant after the frost." The creative background of Changgexing
"Changgexing" It is a Yuefu poem composed by Li Bai based on the old Yuefu title. The specific time of its creation is difficult to ascertain, but from the content of its creation, it can be roughly known that it must have been written after the third year of Tianbao (744 years) of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. The profound and endless sadness of "Gods, wasted time and nothing" leads to "strong singing and wine". If you don't have personal experience and experience, you shouldn't cry for so long while singing. Li Bai was a patriotic poet. He was originally keen on fame and career, and retired after his achievements. To this end, he took the shortcut of Zhongnan to live in seclusion and travel to immortality. He gained fame early and his name will go down in history. He also received wonderful opportunities. Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty issued three edicts to recruit Li Bai. The Jin Palace visited him to discuss countermeasures. He also received special courtesy from Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. He served as an advisor to the Imperial Academy at any time, which was a great honor for a while. However, due to his loose personality and hatred of evil, he was hated by the powerful and slandered by villains, so he was expelled from the court. He was euphemistically called "giving money back to the mountain". This was a heavy blow to Li Bai. His hopes and ideals were fleeting, and he fell into despair and fell into the abyss of sorrow. He sought immortality and Taoism for spiritual sustenance. After he calmly reflected, he realized that he had made a mistake. "Wealth and immortality are lost in time." This poem is exactly in line with this sentiment and is consistent with this logic. It expresses the soul. Its poetic sentiment is close to that of "About to Enter the Wine", "Three Poems on a Difficult Journey", and "Answer to the King Drinking Alone and Feelings on a Twelve Cold Night". When the Anshi Rebellion broke out, Li Bai fell into a frenzy of worry about the country, so it does not seem to have been written in his later years after the Anshi Rebellion. Appreciation of "Long Song Xing"
Li Bai's "Long Song Xing" is deeply influenced by the ancient poem with the same title. A long song may be written about an ancient poem, or it may be about making achievements in time, and not to be sad at all; it may be about a wandering immortal taking medicine to prolong life; or it may be about a wanderer being homesick, lamenting the shortness of human life.
Lu Ji's "Long Song Xing" resents the lack of fame and lack of publicity; Xie Lingyun's "Long Song Xing" reflects the speed of time and the passing of ambition; Emperor Liang Yuan's "Long Song Xing" writes about enjoying time in time; Shen Yue's "Long Song Xing" writes about the aftermath of a journey Tired of falling in love with the Jinhua Palace, my fame has not yet been written, and it is difficult to announce it on bamboo or silk. In short, those who used long songs to write ancient inscriptions before Li Bai all expressed sadness when they touched the scene, embodying their pursuit of a better life and their melancholy and sentimental souls that could not pursue it. Li Bai gained insights into life from this, and thought about his failure in his achievements and his fruitless wanderings in immortality. He repeated the mistakes of the ancients, fell into pain, and did not express his unhappiness. So I devoured it to my heart's content, the passionate words, and the elegiac soul blended the unique emotions of people throughout the ages, inspired people's thoughts, and experienced the pain and joy of life.
The first ten sentences of this poem are the first paragraph. The first two sentences summarize the peach and plum blossoms welcoming the spring sun and the flowers blooming in full bloom, competing for beauty and splendor, but it is only in its glory days. Peach and plum blossoms bloom once a year in spring. This is a natural law, so the blooming of peach and plum blossoms is a symbol of spring and a symbol of beauty. After being exposed to the cold sun of the claustrophobic winter, we turn to the warm caress of the morning sun in spring, which revives all things on the earth and shows active and vigorous vitality. As the spirit of all things, people are more energetic and forge ahead high-spirited. This is Common sense of things and common sense of people. Therefore, people call the beautiful moments of life youth. However, the author's knowledge is not limited to this, and goes deeper to explore the conditions for peach and plum blossoms to bloom in spring, which requires the delicate cultivation of spring sun and painstaking and selfless study. Survival and development are inseparable from spring sunshine. From this, the author further understands the interdependence of the relationship between king and minister, and foreshadows the reason why "fame and fame do not come early" later. The descriptive image of day once symbolized the king in ancient poetry. Peaches and plums bloom when they meet the spring sun, and virtuous people flourish when they meet a wise king. There are similarities between the laws of nature and the common principles of human affairs. The peach and plum trees are written clearly, which is a metaphor for the affairs of the king and his ministers. This may be due to the painstaking efforts of "getting the sun to bloom"! The description of beautiful images deeply contains beautiful feelings and the pursuit of beautiful things. Although the beauty is beautiful, the shortcomings are only due to the glory days, so they are more worthy of cherishing. The author then used four lines of poems to praise the wonderful effects of spring, "The east wind moves all things, and the grass and trees are full of words. There are no ugly leaves on the dead branches, and the dry water spits out the fragrance." The east wind brings warmth, blowing all over the earth, and the Yang Qi sprouts, and all things come from it. Awakening from dormancy and taking on new forms constitute a beautiful realm of life rhythm. As a result, the vegetation is ready to show its heroic appearance, and all the dead branches and ugly leaves in winter have fallen away. The corresponding meaning of "Wuchou Ye" is "Jingmei Ye". The water springs that have dried up are also spitting out fragrant water columns. These four sentences start with the peach and plum blossoms blooming a little at the beginning, and describe the panoramic view of spring returning to the earth. The beauty of peaches and plums also sets off the east wind that constantly transforms and nurtures all things, the vegetation takes on a new look, and the dry springs breathe out their fragrance again, fully displaying the beauty of spring and describing the realm of spring. In summary, the last six lines of the poem are exactly the poet's sense of beauty when he touches the scene, and use plain and natural words and verses to paint the beautiful image and artistic conception of spring. The poet enters the scene and comes out of it, and his wonderful pen creates flowers, which is in harmony with the scene. combine. The plain description embodies profound beauty and philosophical cognition, but it is definitely different from the reasoning in natural textbooks. The last four sentences of this paragraph move from the description of the spring state above to the discussion, expressing emotions and seeking the source of power that creates this beautiful scenery. "Powerful movement moves the heaven and earth, and Xihe whips without stopping. If fame is not announced early, how can bamboo and silk be proclaimed." Based on the insights of ancient Chinese philosophers, the author also believes that this is the divine power of nature that moves the heaven and earth, so there are spring, summer, autumn, and winter. The four seasons thus generate the respective laws of natural survival, development, and death of all things in the universe, forming different scenes in different seasons. However, people always prefer spring and hate winter. However, this was the law of change of yin and yang that people could not change at that time. Of course, they also observed the growth and decline of all things, including people's birth, old age, illness and death, from the endless movement of heaven and earth, and the flow of time, and realized a principle of life. People should be like peach and plum blossoms in spring, and they should be in the beautiful moments of youth. , show your embrace and build great achievements. He was admired and praised by people when he was alive, and his reputation will remain in history after his death. But in reality, although Li Bai had beautiful ideals, values ????as a person, and a spirit of continuous advancement, because he did not receive the warm care of the "Sun" (Emperor), he was still young and drove the six-dragon sun chariot. , Xi He, the driver, kept urging him. If he could not establish his fame early in his youth, he would not be able to leave his name in the history books of bamboo and silk. He passed away in obscurity, so he deeply regretted it. The invisible pressure from the outside and the simmering anger from the inside finally burst out with a voice of sorrow and injustice. Drawing from the past, the current situation, and predicting the future, it expands time and space, is simple in language but profound in meaning, elegant and honest, and develops the traditional characteristics of five-character ancient poetry. At this point in the poem, both the poetry and the meaning should pause, but what is left to people is the suspense of why the fame was not established earlier and what the ending will be.
The last ten sentences of the poem are the second paragraph. The first two sentences echo the beginning and deepen the poetic meaning. Since peaches and plums are dedicated to the pursuit of youth, they should show their beauty in response to youth. Then someone can borrow the sun and make it immobile. Wouldn’t youth last forever? There is a feeling of doubt in the word "who". It is something that cannot be done. Imagine that it can be done, comfort yourself from the fantasy, and enjoy sex from the fantasy, thereby reducing the pressure in the heart and getting relief from the predicament. However, fantasy is temporary. When it turns into reality, it also changes from fanaticism to calmness. Use reason to filter the trajectory of life, clarify right and wrong, gains and losses, and thus create a painful lesson of "wealth and immortality are wasted." of poetry. I have made new judgments about my words and deeds, and understand the wrongdoings of yesterday. The pursuit of wealth, fame, and immortality is the hedonistic consciousness and life values ??of the ruling class. Becoming an official is a sign of realizing the value of life, and one is naturally rich and noble.
This also breeds the illusion and pursuit of immortality, with the goal of always maintaining one's powerful status and wealthy living conditions, and reaping both fame and fortune. If you are unable to seek an official position, you will wander to the immortals, which means you are detached from others, aloof and self-reliant, and you can be an equal to officials, and you can also gain a good reputation. But in the Tang Dynasty, it was also a shortcut to the southern part of the country to become an official. Many feudal scholars in the early Tang Dynasty took this route. Li Bai was no exception. He paid homage to officials and sought out famous mountain monks and immortal masters to gain fame and wealth. Now I have failed in both phases, accomplished nothing, wasted my years, regretted nothing, and fallen into the abyss of pain again. Then I thought of what the ancients once said, "Life is not like gold and stone." "How can you live longer without solid gold and stone?" and then developed into "Gold and stone are still sold, but wind and frost have no lasting quality." Even if life is as solid as gold and stone, metal and stone will be broken into gravel under the long-term invasion and erosion of wind and frost, not to mention that humans are not gold and stone. Naturally, the spring peaches and plums, grass and trees, clear springs, etc. can no longer maintain their spring beauty. The implication is that people cannot live forever, so they must obtain fame and wealth as soon as possible, otherwise there is a danger of not getting it; even if they obtain it, it will be difficult to survive forever. Therefore, the ancient people's experience in seeking official positions was to "take advantage of important roads as early as possible" to realize the life value of leaving a name on books and silk. On the surface, these two sentences have nothing to do with the previous two sentences. However, they are seemingly broken and actually deny the immortal immortality. The development of poetry, the portrayal of the ups and downs of emotions and the ups and downs of thoughts, are therefore reflected in the leaping nature of the verses, leaving people in suspense, pursuing the end, tempting people to go deep, and making the truth come to light. When he regrets his past mistakes, he will definitely change his mind and make a new choice. "Afraid of the setting sun and moon, I will force myself to sing and drink." Have fun in time, sing to your heart's content, and drink to relieve worries. Otherwise, we will fall behind time, and our decaying body will no longer be able to enjoy ourselves. We will walk towards the world of death in vain and live in vain. A "forced joy" reveals the hidden sadness in one's heart. It is a forced joy, a joy created without pleasure, a song and wine to dissolve the sadness in the chest, and a temporary anesthesia. This kind of conscious anesthesia of oneself is a manifestation of the more painful soul. This is an extraordinary performance of Li Bai's art, which brings out the deep inner music that everyone feels but is not aware of yet. This is everyone's approach, not a small family's approach. However, even this hope of self-restraint, which was forced to be resolved, was difficult to achieve and satisfy. I wrote the final poem sadly: "The autumn frost does not care about people, but suddenly invades the willows." The harsh autumn frost never has a heart of benevolence and kills all living things. , has no pity for others, suddenly comes and harms the beauty of Puliu. Puliu is the name of the plant. Its body is weak and cannot withstand wind and frost. After frost, its branches and leaves will be withered, and it will be lifeless. This is a reference. "Shishuoxinyu" records that Gu Yue was the same age as Emperor Jianwen of Liang Dynasty, but Gu's hair turned gray early. Emperor Jian Wen asked Gu, "Why do you want to be white first?" Gu replied: "The posture of pu willows is like looking at autumn and falling; the posture of pines and cypresses is luxuriant after frost." The posture of pu willows is what Gu pointed out, and the posture of pines and cypresses is a metaphor for Emperor Jian Wen. Li Bai used this classic to suit his own status. His humble body cannot withstand the ravages of wind and frost. Autumn frost here not only represents the power of nature, but also symbolizes the cruel blow of evil political forces. Attack an unprepared, weak and humble body with irresistible force, and the result is self-evident. The conclusion is not only rich in meaning, but also emotionally painful. It's upsetting and tear-jerking. It can really be called a song that makes people cry.
Li Bai’s Yuefu poem combines the strengths of predecessors’ works with the same title, and becomes a style of its own. It focuses on Qi and takes nature as the basis. It is fresh, elegant, magnificent and unique. It is written by everyone. The poem begins with a Bixing verse, touching the scene and evoking emotion. However, it is not a work about peach blossoms and plum blossoms, the impermanence of life, and timely enjoyment. Rather, it shows the extraordinary use of common sense and expresses the ambition and the value of life beyond ordinary people. It is definitely not the selfish desires of mediocre villains, it is the high spirit of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. It describes the patriotism of a generation of elites, the praise of beautiful natural spring scenery, the outpouring of love for beauty and the pursuit of beautiful ideals, the resentment of failure in their careers and the pain of failure to free themselves. It opens their hearts and allows people to fully understand His heart sings. A beating heart, turbulent changes, and endless emotions affect the beautiful natural scenes and reveal the injustice of society. Beautiful ideals are always difficult to realize. If you worry and struggle for this, you will inevitably suffer the bad luck of autumn frost. The destruction of beautiful human nature is not a phenomenon of an era, but a phenomenon unique to class society. This is especially true in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, which is thought-provoking.
Li Bai successfully created the mental image of this genius suffering from misfortune. He also used the narrative, lyrical and argumentative techniques of ancient poetry to be integrated into one furnace, and he used them superbly and freely, forming a complete system of artistic expression. I only see the beauty of the poem, but not the technique. This is exactly the pure beauty that Li Bai pursues.
Poetry work: Chang Ge Xing Poetry author: Li Bai of the Tang Dynasty Poetry classification: Yuefu, meritorious service, ideals