Ruan Ji lived in such a dark age at the turn of Wei and Jin Dynasties. He was worried about disaster, so he issued this kind of "worry about life". This poem shows the poet's inner anguish in the dark reality, and reflects the poet's anxiety that he can't see hope and way out.
The original text of Ruan Ji's Poem Eighty-two Chapters on the Wei and Jin Dynasties;
Can't sleep at night, sit up and play the piano. Thin curtains look at the bright moon, and the breeze blows on the chest.
Lonely in the wild, birds are singing in Beilin. What will you see when you walk? Worry and be sad alone.
Translation:
Can't sleep at night, get up and sit and play the piano. The moonlight shines on the thin curtains, and the breeze blows my skirt. Gu Hong (swan) mourns in the wild, and birds fly and hover in Beilin. What do you see when you wander around? Just a person sad.
Extended data
Creation background
Ruan Ji lived in the Wei and Jin Dynasties and had great ambitions. In the later period of Cao Wei, Sima Shi and Cao Shi fought for power and profit, killing political dissidents on a large scale, resulting in an extremely dark and horrible political situation.
With the increasingly sinister political situation, Ruan Ji had to give up his ambition and avoid contradictions by pretending to be crazy, drinking all day and staying in the world. Although I avoided being killed, my heart was extremely painful. He poured out this kind of pain and resentment in his poems in the form of obscure twists and turns, which is the famous five-character poem "Eighty-two Poems on Huai River". ?
Poetry appreciation
The first poem "Sleepless at Night" in Poem on the Arm expresses the poet's complex feelings such as anger, sadness, loneliness and anxiety.
"I can't sleep at night, sit up and play the piano." These two sentences are from RoyceWong's "Seven Sorrows and Three Musts (Part II)" in the Han Dynasty: "You can't sleep alone at night, but take clothes and play the piano." I was lonely and couldn't sleep at night, so I got up with my clothes on and picked up the bronze harp. ) RoyceWong can't sleep at night and plays the piano to express her worries. Ruan Ji can't sleep at night, playing the piano to express his feelings, and his mind is much deeper than that of RoyceWong.
Historical poets are good at playing the piano, and it is with the help of the sound of the piano that they release their anguish. The words "sleepless", "sitting up" and "playing the piano" here are intended to describe the poet's anguish and anxiety.
The poet did not directly point out the "worry" expressed in the poem, but wrote: "The thin curtain looks at the bright moon, and the breeze blows on my chest." Write that the clear moonlight shines on the thin curtains, and write that the cool wind blows on the poet's skirt, creating a sad atmosphere. This seems to be about natural scenery, but there are people in the scene. Because it is the poet who lingers in the moonlight, and the breeze blows the poet's skirt. Therefore, it can be said that writing about scenery is only for writing about people.
"In the wild, lonely Hong sings birds in the north forest." This is about Gu Hong wailing in the wild, while the circling birds wail in the forest of steles. These two sentences were heard by the poet. What he saw was the breeze, the bright moon, the sound of horns and the sound of birds, all of which wrote a quiet and sad environment to reflect the poet's lonely and depressed mood. Affection and scenery, scene blending.
"Wandering will see? I am sad. " In the moonlight, the breeze is Xu Lai, the poet is wandering, and the flying birds are also wandering in the air. The moonlight is hazy and the night is boundless. What did they see: endless night. So, "I'm sad." This shows the poet's lonely, disappointed, melancholy and painful mood, and also sets the tone for the five-character "Eighty-two Poems about Huai".
Baidu Encyclopedia-Eighty-two Poems about Love