"Tingtanqin" Pinyin version
líng líng qī sī shàng, jìng tīng sōng fēng hán.
On the seven cold silk threads, listen quietly to the cold wind in the pines.
gǔ diào suī zì ài, jīn rén duō bù tán.
Although the ancient tune is self-loving, many people today don’t play it.
Listen to the translation of the piano
The cool melody played by the lyre is melodious and ups and downs, and listening carefully is like the sound of the rolling pine waves.
Although I love this ancient tune very much, most people don’t play it anymore.
Listening to the Qin and Appreciating it
This is a poem that expresses one’s ambitions. By lamenting that ancient tunes are ignored and not valued by the world, the poet expresses his grief and indignation at not being recognized for his talents and relieves the regret of his young close friend. The whole poem has an elegant artistic conception, noble aspirations, implicit language, puns, and the lonely feelings permeating the lines are touching.
The first two sentences are about listening and playing the piano, with the word "listening" highlighted. At the beginning, "Ling Ling" is used to describe the clear and melodious sound of the strings played. This is the first time I heard it. Then when the poet concentrated and "listened" with all his concentration, he felt that the sound of the piano gradually turned quiet and desolate, just like the wind blowing into the pines, leading the readers to realize the wonderful fun of listening to the piano together with the author, and to enter the wonderful realm of music. , get the artistic enjoyment of beauty together. It just so happens that among the piano music there is the song "Wind Into the Pine", which has a pun meaning and is very natural. "Cold" is not the cold air brought by the wind in the pine trees, but a special feeling when the listener or player of the piano "wanders between spirit and matter" and enters the wonderful world of music. These two sentences describe the beauty of the sound of the piano, and actually pave the way for the following sentence: "Many people don't play it these days".
If the first two sentences describe the realm of music, then the last two sentences are argumentative and lyrical, describing the emotions caused by listening to the piano and highlighting the main theme. The twist of the word "although" in "the ancient tune is self-loving" changes from the praise of the sound of the piano to the emotion of fashion. The word "many" in "Today there are too many people who don't play" reflects the scarcity of qin players and close friends. These two sentences have two meanings. One is that music is changing in real life. Tang Dynasty has frequent cultural exchanges with surrounding ethnic minorities. Music from ethnic minorities has been introduced to the mainland and the tunes have been renovated, which has had a greater impact on traditional Chinese ethnic music. Influence. At that time, "Yan Le" had become a popular new sound, which was highly appreciated and welcomed by the audience, and it was also a favorite tune to play. The main musical instrument is the pipa imported from the Western Regions. As for the ancient music of the lyre, although it is elegant and solemn, after all, it is a springtime and snowy song, and the music is high and low-pitched. Today, many people don’t play it. The second is that Liu Changqing expresses his feelings about his life experience and the sigh of the times through his appreciation of the sound of the piano, his self-love of ancient tunes and the inability of modern people to play. "Chang Qing is the most talented person in the Qing Dynasty. He is quite popular, has a strong personality, and often disobeys the powerful family. Therefore, he was removed and reviled twice, and everyone knew that he was wronged. - He has suffered injuries without complaining, which is enough to show his elegance." ("Tang Dynasty") "The Biography of Talented Scholars") It can be seen that Liu Changqing was in the society of the mid-Tang Dynasty, and he was deeply moved by the outdated world and the competition for fashion. I cherish Jin and hold on to excellence, hold on to chastity and simplicity, but my talents are not recognized. I deeply feel that the music is rare and no one appreciates it, just like the ancient tunes are elegant but not appreciated and are not played by many people. Some people use these two sentences to say that today's people are more fashionable than playing ancient tunes, which is intended to show that the author is out of step with the times. From Liu Changqing's works, we can indeed see that he has a sense of anachronism and a sentiment that is out of touch with popular customs. His poem "You Qin" (one of the "Eight Miscellaneous Odes to Li Shilang of the Ministry of Rites") says: "The moonlight is full of white, and the sound of the piano is suitable for the late night. On the green silk, I listen quietly to the cold wind in the pines. Although the ancient tune is self-loving, Nowadays, many people don’t play it. I would like to submit this piece to you because it’s difficult to understand the music.” Four of the lines are from this quatrain. "It is difficult to know the most precious music" is also the theme of the poem. This poem is about listening to the piano, which actually expresses a sentiment of self-admiration and unscrupulousness.
The whole poem shifts from praising the sound of the piano to lamenting the fashion, revealing the poet's aloof and self-admiring sentiment, which is different from the commonplace and has rare close friends. Liu Changqing was extremely talented, but he was demoted due to false accusations and many other crimes. Although he is full of complaints, his insistence on being noble prevents him from conforming to the popular customs and being in company with everyone. This poem runs through his praise of elegance, nobility, and purity, and expresses his insistence on not collaborating with the world and the regret and loneliness behind his persistence.
Extended reading: Introduction to the life of Liu Changqing
The year of Liu Changqing’s birth and death is uncertain. The opinions of various famous experts are very different, and the dispute is very fierce. It is generally believed that he was born between 709 and 725 AD. He died between 786 and 790. Liu Changqing specializes in poetry and is good at five-character poems. He calls himself the "Five-character Great Wall". "Secret Words of the Sao Tan" says: Liu Changqing is most popular among poets and specializes in scenes. Liu Changqing's masterpiece "The Master Stays at Furong Mountain in the Snow" has been selected as a textbook for full-time schools in China.
In 756, Emperor Suzong of the Tang Dynasty came to the throne, and Liu Changqing was appointed to be the county captain in Changzhou County, a subsidiary of Suzhou. Soon he was falsely accused and imprisoned, but was released under amnesty.
In the first month of 758 (the third year of Emperor Suzong's reign in Tang Dynasty), he photographed (acted for) the Haiyan Order.
In the spring of 760 (the first year of Shangyuan), he was demoted to the rank of captain of Panzhou Nanba (now Dianbai, Guangdong), but Liu Changqing did not actually serve in Nanba.
In the autumn of 761 (the second year of the Yuan Dynasty), he was ordered to return to Suzhou to accept "re-recommendation" and lived in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
At this time, Jiangnan had just experienced Liu Zhan's Rebellion, and the originally prosperous and prosperous Wujun area became dilapidated and depressed.
After 770 (the fifth year of Emperor Dali of Tang Dynasty), he successively served as a transshipment envoy and judge, and learned that Huaixi and Eyue were transferred to the rear. Because of his strong character, he offended Wu Zhongru, the E-Yue observation envoy, and was falsely accused of corruption and was demoted to Sima of Muzhou (now Chun'an, Zhejiang) again. During the Muzhou period, he had extensive contact with poets living in Zhejiang at that time, such as Huangfu Ran, Qin Xi, Yan Wei, Zhang Bayuan, etc., who all responded with poems.
In 781 (the second year of Emperor Dezong's founding in the Tang Dynasty), he was appointed governor of Suizhou (now Suixian County, Hubei Province). It is known as "Liu Suizhou" in the world.
Between 784 (the first year of Xingyuan) and 785 (the first year of Zhenyuan), Li Xilie, the military envoy of Huaixi Province, was separatist and became king. He fought fiercely with the Tang Dynasty army in Hubei. During this period, Liu Changqing Leave Suizhou.
After Liu Changqing left Suizhou, he probably lived in Jiangzhou, and in his later years he joined the Huainan Jiedu Envoy. He died around 788 (the fourth year of Zhenyuan in the Tang Dynasty).
Liu Changqing went to Suizhou as governor because of his official position, and was also called Liu Suizhou. A native of Xuancheng (now part of Anhui), the county is Wanghejian (now part of Hebei). His ancestral home was in Xuancheng, in the county of Wanghejian, and later he moved to Luoyang. The bottom volume of Yao He's "Ji Xuan Ji" says that Liu Changqing is "from Xuancheng"; the fifth volume of Tang Linbao's "Yuanhe Surname Compilation" mentions the Liu surname of various counties: "Liu Qingyue, a doctor of meritorious service, is from Xuanzhou; Sun Changqing , the governor of Suizhou. "Lin Bao was slightly earlier than Yao He, and the records are consistent, which is enough to eliminate people's doubts.
Song Dynasty Chen Zhensun's "Zhizhai Shulu Jieti", volume 19, contains ten volumes of "Liu Suizhou Collection", which is a collection of poems. It also says: "It was written by Liu Changqing, the governor of Suizhou in the Tang Dynasty, in the study of Xuancheng." According to Lin , Yao Ershi’s theory. However, "New Book of Tang·Yiwenzhi" says that Liu Changqing was from Hejian (now Hejian, Hebei Province). "Biography of Talented Scholars of the Tang Dynasty" says: "Hejian people", and also writes about Li Jilan in the same volume: "I know that Liu Changqing in Hejian has a dark character." disease".
Hejian probably refers to the county. It is almost impossible to say when the Changqing family moved to Luoyang. When I looked at Liu Ji, I realized that Luoyang's old career lingered in his heart, and his feelings were very deep, which was definitely not comparable to those who lived in a short life. There is no biography of Liu Changqing in "Old Book of Tang" and "New Book of Tang", and there has never been any confirmation of his birth and death years. Wen Yiduo thinks his birth year was 709 AD, Fu Xuancong thinks it was around 710 or 725, and there are other theories. The year of his death is generally believed to be between 789 and 791; that is to say, Liu Changqing experienced the four dynasties of Xuanzong, Suzong, Daizong and Dezong.