Chinese Valentine's Day original text and appreciation
Chinese Valentine's Day
Bai Juyi (Tang Dynasty)
Original text:
The mist in the sky is faint and the moon is shining in the sky. The autumn period of the Silver and Han Dynasties is the same throughout the ages.
How much joy and separation are combined in this night every year.
Appreciation
The story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl’s annual Tanabata reunion is a household name in my life. This little poem, based on such a sad and sad tragic story, expresses the sorrow and hatred of a man and a woman in love. The poet expresses his deep sympathy for the lovers.
The first sentence "The mist in the sky is dim and the moon is shining in the sky" was written by seven people. A waning moon hung high in the night sky, looking lonely and desolate. This provides the seventh day of the seventh lunar month for the meeting of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, and at the same time creates an atmosphere that is consistent with the character's heart year. From the description of the ring year in the first sentence, readers will feel the sentimental tone of "Qixi" even if they don't know the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl.
The word "Autumn Period" in "Yinhan Qiu Qi Eternal Tong" implicitly refers to the title, and the three words "Eternal Tong" carry on the meaning of the previous sentence, expressing the eternal state of the Milky Way and celestial phenomena in nature. This means that the Milky Way in the "autumn period" is always "light moon in the sky", which further exaggerates the desolate meaning of the year. On the other hand, it is also said that the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, who live on the east and west sides of the Milky Way, can only look at each other across the Milky Way with deep affection throughout the year, "but they only cross the river for a while on the seventh night of July every year." What a sad and deplorable story this is! So, the poet wrote in a lyrical tone of chant: "How much joy and separation are in this night every year." Every Chinese Valentine's Day, the lovers who have been waiting so hard finally get together in this night. Together, there are endless words of love, endless thoughts and admiration; they will cherish every minute and every second of the rare time, stay with each other tenderly, comfort each other, and enjoy incomparable joy and happiness. Unfortunately, a good night is short. After a short reunion, they were left with endless lovesickness and unbearable loneliness. The joy of meeting and the pain of parting all happened on the night of the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, and were savored by the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl.
The whole poem is written closely around the myth of "Chinese Valentine's Day".
Bai Juyi
Bai Juyi (772-846), whose courtesy name was Letian, also known as Xiangshan Jushi, and Mr. Zuiyin, was originally from Taiyuan. He moved to Xiagui when his great-grandfather was there. He was born in Xinzheng, Henan. He was a great realist poet in the Tang Dynasty and one of the three major poets in the Tang Dynasty. Bai Juyi and Yuan Zhen jointly advocated the New Yuefu Movement, known as "Yuan Bai" in the world, and "Liu Bai" together with Liu Yuxi. Bai Juyi's poetry has a wide range of themes, diverse forms, and simple and popular language. He is known as the "Poetry Demon" and the "Poetry King". He became a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy and a doctor of Zuo Zanshan. In 846 AD, Bai Juyi died in Luoyang and was buried in Xiangshan. There is "Bai's Changqing Collection" handed down from generation to generation, and his representative poems include "Song of Everlasting Sorrow", "The Charcoal Seller", "Pipa Play" and so on.