Tang Dynasty: Yu Shinan
Cicada droops like a tassel on a hat, its tentacles suck the clear dew, and its voice spreads from the branches of the straight Shulang tree.
Cicada is far away from cicada because cicada is on a tall tree, not relying on autumn wind.
Translation and annotation
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Cicada hangs down its tentacles like a hat tassel, sucking the clear and sweet dew, and constantly chirping from the sparse branches of the phoenix tree.
Cicada's voice can spread far because of its height, not by the power of autumn wind.
To annotate ...
Rui: the drooping part of the cap tassel tied under the chin of the ancients is somewhat similar to the shape of the tentacles protruding from the cicada head.
Dew: Pure dew. The ancients thought that cicadas lived by drinking dew, but in fact they sucked the juice of plants.
Flowing clouds and flowing water: refers to the continuous cicada singing.
Sparse: open and sparse.
Relying on: relying on.
This is a poem about objects, full of symbolic significance. Every sentence describes the shape, habit and sound of cicada, and every sentence implies the poet's noble character and interest. The deep meaning of chanting things is to praise people. The key of this poem is to grasp some specific features of cicadas and find artistic correspondence from them.
The first sentence is "hang down and drink clear dew", and "hang down" is the part of the hat belt tied under the chin of the ancients. Cicada's head has prominent tentacles, which look like a drooping crown tassel, so it is called "drooping". The ancients thought that cicadas were noble and drank dew, so they said "drink clear dew". This sentence is ostensibly about the shape and feeding habits of cicadas, but in fact it contains metaphors everywhere. "Hang" means official position (in ancient times, "crown tassel" was often used to refer to your official position). In the eyes of ordinary people, this dignitary's position is contradictory and even incompatible with "Qing", but in the author's pen, they are unified in the image of "hanging their heads and drinking clear dew". This unity of "Gui" and "Qing" is precisely because the "Qing" in three or four sentences does not need to be contrasted with "Gui", and the brushwork is quite clever.
The second sentence, "cicadas sing far and wide." Platanus acerifolia is a tall tree with sparse characters and clear branches. Corresponding to the last sentence "autumn wind", the flowing cicada has a pleasant long sound, and the word "Chu" is used to visualize the meaning conveyed by cicada singing, which seems to make people feel the loudness and strength of cicada singing. Although this sentence is only written by voice, readers can imagine the high level and elegant rhyme of the anthropomorphic cicada in Tsinghua. With this vivid description of the spread of cicadas in the distance, the drama of three or four sentences has taken root.
"A high voice is not affected by the autumn wind" is the crowning touch of the whole article. It is a discussion of poetry on the basis of the last two sentences. Cicadas spread in all directions. Most people often think that it is the autumn wind, but poets have different understandings, emphasizing that this is because of "high". This unique feeling contains a truth: people with high moral character can spread their reputation far and wide without some external support (such as the help of powerful people), just as Cao Pi said in Dian Lun Wen, "They don't forge good historical words, nor rely on flying momentum. Their reputation is autobiographical." What is emphasized here is the beauty and strength of personality. The word "self" and the word "non" in the two sentences echo each other, expressing warm praise and high self-confidence for people's inner character and showing a graceful demeanor. Emperor Taizong praised Yu Shinan's "Five Musts" (morality, loyalty, erudition, literature and prose) for many times. The poet's personalized "cicada" may have its own meaning. Shen Deqian said: "Every time a cicada sounds, it respects its sex alone." (Tang Poetry) This is really a broken theory.