"Drunken Under the Flowers" is a banquet poem written by Li Shangyin, a poet of the Tang Dynasty. This poem describes the poet getting drunk while looking for flowers and admiring them with a candle at night, expressing his love and cherishment of flowers. The first two sentences describe the process of seeking fragrance and getting drunk, showing a sense of mellow contentment; the last two sentences describe the process of admiring flowers in the middle of the night after waking up from alcohol, which further shows the love for flowers. The whole poem has a brisk style, an implicit artistic conception, a clear picture, and the words are like pearls. Basic introduction: Title of work: Hua Xia Zui Year of creation: Late Tang Dynasty Genre of work: Seven character quatrains Author: Li Shangyin Source of work: "Complete Poetry of the Tang Dynasty" Subject of work: Original text of Banquet Poetry, annotated translation, word annotation, vernacular translation, creative background, Work Appreciation, Overall Appreciation, Commentary by Famous Artists, Introduction to the Author, Original Text of the Work: I am drunk under the flowers, looking for the fragrance, but I don’t realize that I am drunk by the flowing clouds⑴, and I am sleeping against the tree. The sun has already set⑵. After the guests had sobered up late at night, they held red candles and admired the remaining flowers⑶. Annotated translation Word annotation ⑴ Liuxia: a kind of fairy wine in myths and legends. "Lun Heng·Daoxu" says that Xiang Manqing was fond of Taoism and learned immortality. He returned home after three years away from home and said to himself: "When I want to eat, the immortals drink from me. Every time I drink a cup, I won't be hungry for several days." Here It means comparing the blooming flowers to the clouds all over the sky. ⑵Sleep: Deep sleep after being drunk. The sun has set: refers to the setting sun. ⑶Update: again. Imitation of Bai Juyi's "Cherishing the Peony Flowers" in "Cherish the Peony Flowers at night and watch the fire". Vernacular Translation: I am eagerly searching for fragrance, but I am intoxicated by the flowing clouds without realizing it. I am sleeping soundly against the flowers and trees, but the sun has already set in the west. It was already late at night when the guests dispersed and sobered up, and they continued to enjoy the remaining flowers with red candles. Creation background During the winter solstice of the second year of Huichang (842) and the winter of the fifth year of Huichang (845), Emperor Wuzong of the Tang Dynasty, during these three years, Li Shangyin resigned from office and lived in Yongle because of his mother's death. During his leisure period, Li Shangyin lived a very lonely and decadent life. He spent all day planting flowers and trees, traveling around mountains and rivers, and drinking wine all day long. During this period, he composed a large number of poems about flowers and trees. This is one of the more outstanding ones. Appreciation of Works Overall Appreciation This is a short poem that expresses the intoxication with flowers. The poem begins with looking for flowers. Then indulge in the flowers, and finally write about sobering up and admiring the flowers. The whole article revolves around flowers. It shows the poet's strong love for flowers. It can be said that he loves flowers very much. The first two sentences describe the process of seeking fragrance and getting drunk, revealing a sense of mellow contentment. "Looking for the fragrance, I don't realize that I am drunk by the flowing clouds. I sleep under the tree and the sun has set." On this beautiful spring day, the poet was tracing the flowers all the way, and he was drunk without knowing it. As the sun set, he fell asleep leaning against the flower tree. Because the poet loves flowers, he has a strong interest and ardent mood, and goes to "search for the fragrance" alone. After "searching", he is really happy to meet it. When he encounters it, he is deeply attracted by the beauty of the flower, and he can't stop praising it. While lingering on praising it, I became "drunk" without knowing it. The word "unconscious" has a profound and broad meaning, including the beauty of flowers, the mellowness of wine and the intoxication of people. The mood of not knowing why, the writing style is extremely wonderful. The word "Drunk Flowing Clouds" is used here with a double entendre. It not only clearly refers to being drunk by the sweet wine, but also metaphorically refers to being drunk by the gorgeous flowers. From the word "Liu Xia", we can imagine the splendor and beauty of flowers, as well as the fragrance and shape of flowers, which strengthens the specific perceptibility of the word "Zui". The poet expresses the interaction and wonderful fusion between physical intoxication and psychological intoxication through the pun-intended "drunk clouds". The second sentence "Leaning on a tree to sleep and the sun has set" further writes the word "drunk". Because I was drunk with flowers, I didn't realize that I was leaning on a tree (leaning on a tree is also leaning on flowers, and the flowers grow on the tree, as bright as the flowing clouds). I leaned on the tree and didn't realize that I was falling asleep. I was asleep and didn't realize that the sun was setting in the west. The narration is orderly, and the word "drunk" is closely followed everywhere. When you sleep drunkenly under a flower tree, your whole body and mind are surrounded and infected by the fragrance of flowers, and even your dreams carry the intoxicating fragrance of flowers. So this "sleeping" can be said to be the intoxication with flowers. This sentence seems to be derived from the sentence "The flowers are leaning on the stone and suddenly it is dark" in Li Bai's "Sleepwalking Tianmu's Song of Farewell", which further writes the state of being fascinated by flowers, both physically and mentally. The next two sentences describe admiring flowers in the middle of the night after waking up from alcohol, which further shows the love for flowers. At the same time, it also changed the beautiful and satisfying atmosphere to desolation and loneliness. "After the guests dispersed and woke up from the wine late at night, I held a red candle and admired the remaining flowers." The guests had dispersed, the wine had awakened, and the night was already deep. Completely opposite to the lively and joyful scene in the first half of the night, the feeling of loneliness came back. In this kind of environment, most people would not think of admiring flowers; even if they thought of it, they would feel uninterested because of the cold wind and cold weather and the lack of flowers. But the poet's love for flowers has not diminished at all. He wants to take advantage of the dead of night when no one is disturbed to appreciate the broken flowers alone with a red candle. His obsession with flowers has been fully revealed. At the same time, the "red candle" and "broken flower" in the poem further form a contrast, which further shows the ruin of the flower. The poet thought of the flowers that bloomed during the day, and that by the Ming Dynasty they might have fallen in profusion and left red all over the ground. A deep feeling of lingering on beautiful things arose spontaneously, prompting him to seize this last opportunity to appreciate the disappearing beauty. , so there was a scene of "holding a red candle and appreciating the remaining flowers". In the hazy night, under the illumination of red candles, this withering flower seemed to show a strange brilliance at the last moment of its life, as beautiful as a colorful yet hazy dream. The "appreciation" after waking up late at night is a further expression of "drunk". It also expresses the poet's reluctance to let go of the beautiful things that are about to pass away, and the feeling of pity arises spontaneously.
The artistic conception of the concluding sentence is similar to "Leave the withered lotus to listen to the sound of rain" in the poet's early work "Su Luo's Pavilion to Remind Cui Yong and Cui Gun" when he was frustrated in the examination. Both withered lotus and withered flowers are ignored by ordinary people. Yes, but the poet combined it with raindrops and red candles. It can be said to turn decay into magic. It exudes a sense of poignancy and is deeply loved by readers. In Su Shi's "Begonia", the sentence "I'm afraid the flowers will fall asleep late at night. The tall candles burning in the open will illuminate the red makeup" is derived from this sentence. It just omits some of the desolation in Li Shangyin's poems. The whole poem revolves around flowers, especially the last sentence, which shows the obsession with flowers. Not only love blooms. It is rare to see beauty even in fallen flowers. Commentary by Famous Artists Yao Peiqian of the Qing Dynasty's Notes on Li Yishan's Collected Poems: Fang is the ultimate lover of flowers. Qu Fu in the Qing Dynasty wrote "Poetry in Yuxi": "I am drunk when people appreciate me, but when I am a guest, I enjoy it alone. I have no seat but I feel restrained!" Ji Yun said in Shen Houshuang's Commentary on Li Yishan's Collected Poems of the Qing Dynasty: There is more than enough emotion, but not enough rhythm. Ma Wei's "Autumn Window Essay" of the Qing Dynasty: Li Yishan's poem "After the guests woke up late at night, they held red candles to admire the remaining flowers", which is elegant and profound; Su Zizhan "I was afraid that the flowers would fall asleep late at night, so I burned high candles to illuminate the red makeup" ", there is an atmosphere of wealth: the second son loves flowers and is very happy. Perhaps it is said which of the two poems is better, I said: Li Sheng, Su Wei has a small flaw. "Li Yishan's Poetry Identification" by Zhang Caitian of the Qing Dynasty: The connotations are tactful, the words are calm, and the seven unique works of the late Tang Dynasty are rarely matched. It is also a collection of excellent songs. Lin Changyi of the Qing Dynasty wrote in "She Ying Tower Poems": This recipe is the ultimate love of flowers, and it can be recognized from loneliness. Is it true that the world's most talented and lustful people can do this? Brief introduction of the author Li Shangyin (about 813-about 858), a poet in the Tang Dynasty. The courtesy name is Yishan, and the nicknames are Yuxisheng and Fan Nansheng. A native of Hanoi, Huaizhou (now Qinyang, Henan). In the second year of Kaicheng's reign (837), he passed the imperial examination. He once served as county captain, secretary Lang and Dongchuan Jiedushi judge. Caught in the middle of the partisan struggle between Niu and Li, he was ostracized and lived in despair for the rest of his life. His poetry achievements are very high. Many of his "historical" poems refer to ancient times and are satirical. His "untitled" poems are very famous. He is good at law and jue, rich in literary talent, and has a unique style. However, he suffers from the problem of too many allusions and obscure meanings. There is "Li Yishan Poetry Collection".
Portrait of Li Shangyin