The original poem is: A glance at the charming city. Look at Qingren's country again. I would rather not know the beauty of the city and the beauty of the country. Beautiful women are hard to come by.
Meaning: When a beautiful girl glanced at the soldiers guarding the city, the soldiers abandoned their weapons and the wall fell; when she glanced at the emperor who ruled the world, the emperor fell in love and the country was destroyed! Beautiful girls often bring about disasters that "capture the city and the country". Even so, you can't lose the good opportunity to get a beautiful woman. Beautiful girls are rare to find in this world and can never be found again! From "There is a Beautiful Woman in the North" (also called "Li Yannian's Song"), the original poem content is as follows:
Li Yannian's Song
Dynasty: Han Dynasty Author: Li Yannian
North There are beauties. Peerless and independent. Take a look at the charming city. Look at Qingren's country again. I would rather not know the beauty of the city and the beauty of the country. Beautiful women are hard to come by.
Creative background: "Li Yannian Song", Guo Maoqian's "Yuefu Collection" is included in "Miscellaneous Songs and Ballads". "Book of Han: Biography of Foreign Relatives" records: At a palace banquet, Li Yannian sang this poem while performing a dance. After hearing this, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty couldn't help but sigh: How can there be such a beautiful woman in the world? Princess Pingyang, the sister of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, recommended Li Yannian's sister. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty summoned her to see her, and she was indeed beautiful and good at dancing. From then on, Li Yannian's sister became Emperor Wu's favorite concubine, Mrs. Li. Li Yannian also gained more favor.
Detailed introduction: Among the many concubines favored by Emperor Wu, the most unforgettable one was the beautiful and good-dancing Mrs. Li; and Mrs. Li's luck was due to the famous song of her brother Li Yannian. The beauty song that moved the capital: In the early days, Madam (Li)’s brother Yannian was a close friend, good at singing and dancing, and Emperor Wu loved him. Every time the tune is changed to a new sound, everyone who hears it will be moved. The minister Yannian danced and sang: "There is a beautiful woman in the north, peerless and independent. Once you look at the city of Qingren, you will look at the country of Qingren. Would you rather not know the city and the country? It's hard to find a beautiful woman again!" The emperor sighed and said: "Good! Is there such a person in the world?" Lord Pingyang said that Yannian has a female brother. The superior summoned her, and she was really beautiful and good at dancing, so she was lucky. ("Book of Han·Biography of Wife's Wife") A short song could actually make the talented Emperor Wu fall in love after hearing it, and he immediately felt yearning for his beloved. This is probably a unique example in the history of ancient Chinese poetry. Why does it have such moving charm? At first glance, the song's opening line is mediocre, and the praise for the "beautiful woman" goes straight to the point without any exaggeration or foreshadowing. But its meaning is extraordinary. The land is beautiful, and its beauties are mostly apricot-eyed and willow-waisted, clear and charming; the northern country is vast and vast, and its ladies are mostly snow-skinned and icy, with light makeup and deep affection. This song starts with the word "North", and the opening line brings a crystal clear and pure wind spirit to the beauty sung to that is different from the south. There are more than tens of thousands of beauties in the north, but what this song focuses on is just one "peerless and independent" among the thousands of beauties. "Peerless" praises her beauty of appearance, which is simply unparalleled; "independent" describes her The elegant nature of the secluded place is even more transcendent and outstanding. Not only that, "peerless and independent" also faintly reveals that this beauty disdains to be in the company of other women, and no one knows about her and is independent of the railing. That is not only otherworldly, but also more pitiful. This is Pingzhong Pregnancy. With just two sentences at the beginning, I am afraid that Emperor Wu took the lead and felt longing for the beautiful woman. Since the northern beauty is so refined and lovely, what kind of beautiful demeanor should she have while looking at her? It is not easy to express this. What's more, before Li Yannian, there had been exquisite descriptions in many poems and poems. "Wei Feng·Shuo Ren" shows the beauties of the harem, with "hands like catkins, skin like gelatin, collar like a cricket grub, teeth like gourds and rhinoceros, cocoon head and moth eyebrows. A clever smile, beautiful eyes are looking forward to", once said Yao Jiheng, a native of the Qing Dynasty, lamented that "there is no other person who has praised beauty throughout the ages, and this is the last song" ("The Book of Songs"). The romantic and elegant Song Yu sings about the woman next door to the east. She also has the following verses: "If you add one point, it will be too long; if you take one point off, it will be too short." The beauty of posture and longing ("Dengtuzi Lustful Fu"). Under such circumstances, if Li Yannian wanted to praise the beauties from the north, he would probably have to stop dancing and singing if he didn't have something special to say. However, this talented musician unexpectedly sang the strange line "Look at the charming city, then look at the charming country" - she only needed to take a look at the soldiers guarding the city wall, and she could make people move. The soldiers abandoned their weapons and the walls fell; if they "turn their eyes" towards the ruler who is coming to the world again, the disaster of ruining the country and destroying the clan will befall him! It’s really incredible that the beauty of looking forward to a beautiful woman is used as the fearsome words “alluring the city” and “alluring the country”! But if it wasn't so exaggerated, how could it show the shocking beauty of this beauty? And it is precisely because this figure is so frighteningly beautiful that it makes people even more fascinated and fond of her. If beautiful things were so close and easy to obtain, I'm afraid they wouldn't be so attractive. This is the philosophy of life of "What is not to be feared? What is Yi Ke Huaiye" ("Binfeng·Dongshan"). The ending of this song is also intriguing. The above article is an extreme exaggeration of the beauty of a beautiful woman, but the ending suddenly changes and turns into words of deep regret: "Would you rather not know a beautiful city or a beautiful country? A beautiful woman is hard to come by again!" A beautiful woman often brings you great things. The disaster of "beautiful city" and "overwhelming country". Are there few such examples in history? This seems to be a warning to the emperor to remember the ancient lessons of a beautiful city and a beautiful country, and not to be misled by "beautiful women".
But the next sentence adds another layer of focus? Even if you have a beautiful city or a beautiful country, don't lose the opportunity to get a beautiful woman - after all, a beautiful woman is rare in the world and can never be obtained again! These two sentences pretend to be a dilemma of choice, but they actually have the beauty of "play hard to get": the more you emphasize the inaccessibility of a beautiful woman, the more you will see her beauty; and the more you regret that a beautiful woman is rare, the more you can urge people to hurry up and get her. The author's intention is to use words of deep regret to touch Emperor Wu's sense of loss that it is difficult to find a peerless beauty, so that he can make a quick decision. This kind of ending can be said to be a song with three sighs and a lingering sound, which makes people feel sad after hearing it. No wonder Emperor Hu couldn't help but sigh after listening to this song, "How can there be such a person in the world?" - Mrs. Li was recommended and summoned at such a moment, which is suitable for the emotional atmosphere created by Li Yannian's extraordinary song. . It can be seen that this song expresses the beauty of a beautiful woman. Unlike "Wei Feng·Shuo Ren", which is good at vivid metaphors and vivid portraits, it shows its own characteristics with amazing exaggeration and contrast. In terms of expression method, it is closer to Song Yu's "Dengtuzi Lustful Ode". If there is any difference between the two, it is that while this song uses exaggeration and contrast, it also firmly captures the subtlety that people often have when they are "fearful" and "embracing", and "difficult" makes them more "seeking". Psychology finally produced an unusual effect, touching the heartstrings of a generation of heroes. This is where its artistic charm lies. Another thing worth noting about this song is that it adopts a generally neat five-character style (the words "I would rather not know" in the fifth sentence can actually be deleted). This posture was only popular in folk "slang songs" at that time. Li Yannian introduced it to the upper court, with a beautiful and moving "new voice variation". This undoubtedly played a catalytic role in the germination and growth of five-character poetry among literati in the Han Dynasty.