Original poem:
The vast sadness of parting extends to the setting sun, away from Beijing, riding a whip to the east, feeling that people are on earth.
I quit my job and go home, just like a flower falling from a branch, but this is not a heartless thing. It can be turned into the soil of spring and can also play a role in nurturing the next generation.
Translation:
The sadness of parting extends to the distant sunset. When I left Beijing, I felt like I was at the end of the world with a wave of my whip to the east. I quit my job and went home, just like a fallen flower falling from a branch, but it was not a heartless thing. It has become the soil of spring and can also play a role in cultivating the next generation.
Source: Gong Zizhen's "Jihai Miscellaneous Poems, Worrying and Forgetting Friends" in the Late Qing Dynasty
Poetry appreciation
"Falling red is not a heartless thing, but turning into spring mud protects flowers more" is a deep and broad mind, divorced from the people's affairs and sincere and simple personality, which is difficult to express.
There are three levels of ambition in ancient poetry: first, they will never forget when they are old, such as "the martyrs are courageous in their twilight years"; The second is to rest until death, such as "do your best and die"; The third thing is nothing to think about, you can go further. For example, Qu Yuan's "nine deaths without regret".
Gong Zizhen's two poems, the peak works, are really rare and can be engraved into human memory. If we look at this kind of mind and personality from the perspective of China culture, Gong Zizhen has transcended utilitarianism and morality and entered the realm of heaven and earth. At the same time, we can also see that the words "martyrs are in high spirits in their later years" are straightforward and touching, while "falling in love is not heartless, but turning into spring mud is more protective of flowers", which euphemistically won the interest of Feng.