Walking in the moonlight at Zhouqiao, I miss Shanjiao, looking back in sorrow but not realizing how far away I am.
Tonight I hear the old sobs again, but I see the mountains and the moon talking about the Zhouqiao Bridge.
——Wang Anshi's "Zhouqiao"
Between the north and south of Zhouqiao is Tianjie, where the old man is waiting to drive home;
holding back tears, he asked the messenger: "When will it be?" Are the Sixth Army really coming? ”
——Fan Chengda’s “Zhouqiao”
The original annotation in the poem “Zhouqiao” written by Fan Chengda accurately describes the location of Zhouqiao : Zhouqiao, "Looking south to the Zhuque Gate and north to the Xuande Tower, both are old imperial roads." Zhuque Gate is the south gate of Bianjing. Xuande Tower, the main gate tower of the palace city. During the Song Dynasty, there was only this state bridge in Bianjing. Wang Anshi and Fan Cheng were both officials in the capital and were very familiar with this bridge. Their poetic thoughts were often haunted by this bridge. Because of this, they can also write on this subject. But it is obvious that the starting points of the two poems are different. Wang Anshi's poem "Zhouqiao" was written after he retired to Jinling in his later years. When Wang Anshi was in power, he advocated reforms, but was strongly resisted by the conservatives. He was forced to dismiss the prime minister twice. His political ideals could not be realized. In his later years, he retreated to Jinling. It is understandable that he felt depressed. This song "Zhouqiao" was composed here. under this background. The poet writes about Zhouqiao from the perspective of recalling the time when he was in the capital and "stepping on the moon" over Zhouqiao. Therefore, what permeates the poem is a kind of unforgettable affection for his hometown that seems light but strong. : "Tonight I hear the old sobs again, but I look at the mountains and the moon and talk about Zhouqiao." When I heard the sound of running water in Zhongshan Mountain in Jinling, I thought about the past in silence, and naturally I recalled the glorious years at Zhouqiao. Fan Chengda's "State Bridge" was written in the summer of the first year of Emperor Xiaozong's reign (1170). At that time, Bianjing had been occupied for more than 40 years. The poet was ordered to go to the Kingdom of Jin as an envoy. He wrote 72 quatrains based on what he saw and heard along the way. "State Bridge" is one of them.
The poet returned to his old capital and saw the scene of Bianjing after the fall, and was filled with emotion. Therefore, he expressed the vast number of people in the occupied areas through the description of the Bianjing elders' eager hope that the Song Dynasty would expel the invaders and regain the lost land as soon as possible. He had strong patriotic feelings, and showed strong dissatisfaction with the Song Dynasty for its seclusion and lack of thought for unification: "Crying back tears, I asked the envoy, when will the Sixth Army really come?" His feelings were so strong!