Moon Song of Mount Emei_
Li Bai of the Tang Dynasty
The half-cycle autumn moon of Mount Emei casts its shadow into the water of Pingqiang River.
The clear stream flows towards the Three Gorges at night, and I miss you and go down to Yuzhou without seeing you.
Famous commentators commented on "Notes on Tang Poetry": "'Jun' refers to the moon. The moon is in Emei, and its shadow enters the river. Due to the moonlight, the clear stream appears, and towards the Three Gorges, the moon suddenly disappears, and the boat has gone straight down. Yuzhou. The poem has a unique charm."
Wang Shizhen of the Ming Dynasty commented: "This is a beautiful place in Taibai. Among the twenty-eight characters are Mount Emei, Pingqiang, Qingxi, Sanxia, ??and Yuzhou. Later generations will leave countless traces of it, and it will help to see the beauty of this old furnace hammer." ("Yiyuan Zhiyan")
Wang Shimao, a man of the Ming Dynasty, commented: "Those who talk about art say that the seven-character rule cannot be divided into two sentences. Into the story, you can't repeat the story in one article. There are few people who can pick it out and see it carefully. However, I think it is not a wonderful understanding. When the expression of the poem is conveyed, it will be better without any trace. , even if two sentences are used twice, there is no harm. For example, in Taibai's "Moon Song of Mount Emei", five of the four sentences are included in the place name. However, it is a masterpiece in ancient and modern times, but it is not tired of repetition." ("Yipu Jin") < /p>
Creative background
This poem comes from Volume 8 of "The Complete Works of Li Taibai". It was the work of young Li Bai when he first left Shu. It was written around 725 (the thirteenth year of Kaiyuan). time) before. This poem is a poem written by Li Bai when he first came to Sichuan and was attached to the mountains and rivers of his hometown. The poet traveled by water by boat. On the boat, he saw the half-round autumn moon rising from Mount Emei. The shadow of the mountain moon was reflected in the Pingqiang River, and the shadow of the moon always followed the river. At night, the boat departed from Qingxiyi and headed for the Three Gorges. After the boat turned into Yuzhou, the moon was obscured by the mountains and could not be seen. This poem uses five place names to show a thousand-mile journey along the Shu River through the mountains, moon and rivers.
Appreciation
Mount Emei is located in today's Emei County southwest of Chengdu, Sichuan. There are many temples in the mountains. Li Bai's poems related to Mount Emei. There are three poems that people are familiar with, one is "Climbing Mount Emei", which was written when the author lived in Shu in his early years, and the other is "Mount Emei Moon Song Sends Shu Monk Yan to Beijing" written in his later years; this one is written by When the author left Shu at the age of twenty-six (726). If Li Bai climbed Mount Emei in his early days to visit Taoism and seek immortality, then the poems about the Moon Song of Mount Emei he wrote when he was about to leave Shu and after he left Shu were mainly used to express his lofty ideals and longing for his friends. People appreciate this poem, but their understanding is very different.
First, there are different opinions on the author’s mood when he wrote this poem. Volume 47 of Ming Gaoyu's "Collection of Tang Poems" quotes Liu Xuxi as saying that this poem is "emotional and sad", while Cheng Qianfan's "Research on Ancient Poems: One and Many in the Description and Structure of Classical Poetry" says: "Li Bai's conception He contrasts the lonely moon in the sky with the many places he passes by as the river flows eastward to show his brisk mood as he rides down the river. "If we analyze this poem in relation to Li Bai's motivation for going out of the river, we can compare the above two. It is not difficult to judge whether this understanding is correct or incorrect. At that time, the author traveled to Shu with the ambition of all directions, and the Judapeng was about to spread its wings. There is no "sadness" at this time. On the contrary, there is a strong desire to compete with Mingyue. The moon of Mount Emei originally flowed eastward with the river, and the author took a boat down the river. Sometimes you can see the mountain moon wherever you pass, sometimes you can't see it. The bright moon appears and disappears, as if it is chasing you closely. When you can't see it, it's like leaving the mountain and moon behind in the distance. If the above-mentioned "emotion" that Liu Xuxi calls "emotion" is understood as the author's interest in playing with the mountains and the moon or the joy of being able to get out of Sichuan, it seems to be closer to the original meaning than the word "sadness".
Second, there are different understandings of the word "Autumn". One thinks it refers to autumn, and the other thinks "it refers to the time when the Emei Mountain moon reaches its first quarter or last quarter and forms a semicircle." Judging from its meaning, of course the latter statement is more reasonable. However, it is certain that the "half wheel" in Li's poem does not refer to the first quarter moon, because Mount Emei is southwest of the author at this time, so it naturally refers to the end of the lunar month. At the same time, the interpretation of the word "Autumn" as "time" can be found in exegesis, that is, the word "Autumn" can be interpreted as "period" and "day".
In addition, the word "Autumn" is also used to mean flying or leaping, such as "Hanshu·Liyue Zhi·An Shifang Zhongge" No. 7: "Flying Dragon Autumn, swimming up to the sky" "According to this, it seems reasonable to interpret this sentence as a crescent moon flying over Mount Emei.
Third, there are different explanations of the "Three Gorges". One theory is that the "Three Gorges" here refers to Qutang Gorge, Wu Gorge, and Xiling Gorge at the junction of Hubei and Sichuan; another theory is that it refers to the so-called Small Three Gorges of Litou, Bei'e, and Pingqiang in Leshan County, Sichuan. To discern which one is more reasonable. We might as well examine Li Bai's route out of Sichuan first. The author saw the reflection of the moon on Mount Emei in the Pingqiang River, indicating that he set off from Mount Emei. The Pingqiang River, also known as the Qingyi River, originates from the northwest of Lushan County, Sichuan, and flows into the Minjiang River in Leshan County. The "Qingxi" in the third sentence refers to Qingxi Station, located in Qianwei County, Sichuan. "Qingxi" is located downstream of the Three Gorges in Leshan, and the author sets out from here at night. The target is "Xiang Three Gorges" obviously does not refer to the Three Gorges in Leshan County. Otherwise, not only will the word "Xiang" lose its place, pedestrians will have to go back. Therefore. The "Three Gorges" here must refer to the famous Badong Three Gorges. Here is The place that people yearn for is also the only way out of Sichuan from Leshan via Yuzhou (today's Chongqing area)
Fourth, there are different interpretations of the word "jun" in the couplet. The friend whom the author misses may be his "send-off person"; Shen Deqian said: "The moon is between the Qingxi and the Three Gorges, and half of it is no longer visible." The character Jun refers to the moon.
"("Tang Shi Bie Cai") It seems that the latter statement is more reasonable. Mount Emei is the author's actual hometown, and the moon is the circle of his hometown. The author's nostalgia for the moon in Mount Emei is undoubtedly also his attachment to his hometown. If you replace "Miss You" with "Miss You" Interpreted as "missing friends", it seems too straightforward. It is better to think of it as a personification of the moon, which is more poetic. Yu Biyun believes: "The waning moon of the autumn night reflects the green and steep Mount Emei." The river stops and the scenery is secluded. Reluctantly, the boat set off at night and headed east to Bayu. Looking back at the slanting moon setting over the mountains, I miss you. I miss you. There is a beautiful mountain across the way, which is like being a good friend. "(Continuation of "A Brief Introduction to Poetry") Therefore, "missing you" does not just refer to missing a certain friend, but a broad sense of nostalgia. Taking the mountain and moon, which symbolizes the hometown, as a friend does not refer to a specific person. Does my friend have more profound meaning?
The ancients praised this poem most for its wonderful use of place names. Wang Shimao, a man of the Ming Dynasty, said: "There is a saying among art talkers that a sentence of seven characters cannot be included in a story, and a sentence cannot be included in a story." Repeat offender stories. This disease affects only a few people, and even if it can be picked out, it can be severe. However, I don’t think they are all enlightened. When composing a poem, it reaches the point where the expression is conveyed, and it will be perfect as it is divided, leaving no trace at all. Even if one sentence is repeated twice, or two sentences are repeated, there will be no harm. For example, in Taibai's "Moon Song of Mount Emei", five of the four sentences are included in place names. However, it is a masterpiece in ancient and modern times, but it is not tired of repetition. "("Yipu Jin") Wang Shizhen called this poem a beautiful scene in Taibai, and said: "In the twenty-eight characters. There are Mount Emei, Pingqiang River, Qingxi, Three Gorges, and Yuzhou, which have left countless traces for future generations. It is also beneficial to see the wonder of this old furnace hammer. "("Yi Yuan Yan").
What needs to be added here is that the author is not only good at using place names without revealing any traces, but what is even more noteworthy is his proficiency in the poetry of quatrains, especially the third sentence , the transfer is very laborious, the author came from the Pingqiang River downstream, so the "night hair Qingxi" in the third sentence is a real transfer, if it is a real transfer, from Qingxi down to Yuzhou, it becomes the water. The list of dock names may not be poetic, but "Towards the Three Gorges" is somewhere between fiction and reality. As a place name, "Three Gorges" is true, but the poet has not yet arrived. Because of the third sentence. The fourth sentence is a wonderful transfer and turns a series of ordinary place names into a beautiful scene in the poem.