1. Reasons
The author writes that there is no spring breeze there. He is using nature as a metaphor for the fact that the supreme ruler who lives in the prosperous imperial capital is not considerate of the people and ignores the soldiers who are far away from Yumen Pass to guard the border.
2. Original text
Liangzhou Ci by Wang Zhihuan
Far above the Yellow River, among the white clouds, there is an isolated city in Wanren Mountain.
Why should the Qiang flute blame the willows? The spring breeze does not pass through Yumen Pass.
3. Translation
Translation 1
The Yellow River seems to be rushing from the white clouds, and Yumen Pass stands alone in the mountains.
Why should the soldiers complain that the willow trees have not sprouted? The spring breeze cannot blow outside Yumen Pass.
Translation 2
The Yellow River rushing from far away seems to be connected with the white clouds; Yumen Pass stands alone in the mountains, looking lonely and lonely.
Why use the Qiang flute to play the sad willow song to complain about the delay in spring? It turns out that the spring breeze cannot blow in the Yumenguan area!
IV. Notes
1. Liangzhou Ci: Also known as "Crossing the Fortress". Lyrics for a popular song at the time ("Liangzhou Ci").
2. There are two original titles, one of which is "Liangzhou Song" in Volume 79 of Guo Maoqian's "Yuefu Collection". "Liangzhou", Gong Tiaoqu, Guo Zhiyun, the governor of Central and Western Liang Prefecture in Kaiyuan Dynasty". Liangzhou, Guzang County (now Liangzhou District, Wuwei City, Gansu Province), where Liangzhou was governed by Longyou Road in the Tang Dynasty.
3. Far up; looking far to the west. "Far" means "straight".
4. The Yellow River is far up: looking at the source of the Yellow River.
5. Lonely city: refers to a lonely border guarding castle.
6. Ren: An ancient unit of length. One Ren is equivalent to seven or eight feet (equal to 231cm or 264cm, approximately equal to 2.3m or 2.6m).
7. Qiang Flute: The ancient Qiang people were mainly distributed in the Gansu, Qinghai and Sichuan areas. The Qiang flute is a Qiang musical instrument and is a horizontal wind instrument. Belongs to a kind of musical instrument.
8. Willow: "Folding Willow". Willows are often used as a metaphor for farewell in ancient poems. "Poetry·Xiaoya·Plucking Wei": "In the past, I have gone, and the willows are still there." The Northern Dynasty Yuefu "Drum and Horn Horizontal Blowing Song" has "Breaking Willow Branches", the lyrics say: "Mounting the horse does not catch the whip, but bends the willow branches. Get off the horse and blow the willow branches." The horizontal flute is used to kill travelers."
9. Degree: I have played it before. Budu: cannot be blown
10. Yumen Pass: Built by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, it was named after the jade imported from the Western Regions passed here. The former site is located in the small Fangpan City northwest of Dunhuang, Gansu Province, which was the main route to the Western Regions in ancient times. During the Six Dynasties, the pass site was moved eastward and is now near the Anxi Twin Towers.
11. Why: Why bother. Why complain: Why complain.
12 Willow: the wicker of the poplar tree, also refers to "Willow Song".
5. Appreciation
Wang Zhihuan’s poem describes the nostalgia of soldiers guarding the border. The writing is desolate and generous, sad without losing its grandeur. Although it tries its best to exaggerate the resentment of the garrison soldiers who cannot return home, it does not have the slightest sense of depression and depression, fully demonstrating the open-minded and broad-mindedness of the poets in the prosperous Tang Dynasty.
The first sentence "The Yellow River is far above the white clouds" captures the characteristics of the distant view and paints a moving picture: On the vast plateau, the Yellow River rushes away. Looking far to the west, it seems that it flows into Just like the white clouds. The second sentence, "An isolated city in Wanren Mountain", writes about the isolated city on the fortress. Surrounded by mountains and rivers, an isolated city on the frontier stands tall. These two sentences describe the majestic momentum of the motherland's mountains and rivers, outline the geographical situation of this important national defense town, highlight the desolate situation of the border guards, and provide a typical environment for the latter two sentences to depict the psychology of the defenders.
In this environment, I suddenly heard the sound of the Qiang flute, and the tune it played happened to be "Folding Willows", which could not but arouse the sorrow of separation among the soldiers. The ancients had the custom of breaking off willow trees and giving them to each other before parting. "Liu" and "Liu" are homophonic, so gifting willow means taking a commemoration. The Northern Dynasties Yuefu's "Drum and Horn Horizontal Blowing Song" includes "Breaking Willow Branches". The lyrics say: "When you get on your horse, you don't catch the whip, but instead bend the willow branches. When you get off your horse, you play the horizontal flute, worried about killing the travelers." The song mentions the breaking of willow branches when travelers are leaving. This style of breaking off willows as a farewell was extremely popular in the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, willows and farewell have a close connection. Now, when the soldiers on the border hear the sad melody "Breaking Willows" played on the Qiang flute, they will inevitably feel sad about separation. Therefore, the poet explained in a cheerful tone: Why does the Qiang flute always play the sad tune "Breaking Willows"? You know, outside the Yumen Pass is a place where the spring breeze cannot blow, so there are no willows to break! Saying "Why complain" does not mean that there is no resentment, nor does it advise the garrison soldiers not to complain, but that it is useless to complain. The use of the three words "why complain" makes the poem more subtle and profound.
The third and fourth lines, Yang Shen of the Ming Dynasty believed that they contained ironic meaning. In his book "Sheng'an Poetry Talk", he said: "This poem is not as kind as the frontier fortress. It is said that the king's gate is thousands of miles away." "The author writes that there is no spring breeze there, using nature as a metaphor for the fact that the supreme ruler who lives in the prosperous imperial capital is not considerate of the people's sentiments and ignores the soldiers who go out to Yumen Pass to guard the border. Ancient Chinese poetry has always had a tradition of "responsibility", not to mention "poems are incomprehensible". We think it is not impossible for readers to understand it this way, but we cannot be sure that the author really meant this.
The specific explanation of these two sentences: Since the spring breeze cannot blow outside the Yumen Pass, the willows outside the pass will naturally not spit out leaves. What is the use of "blaming" it?