This poem comes from a poem "Ode to a Woman, Message to Dongping Taifu Li" written in the Tang Dynasty. The original poem goes like this: You know you have a husband, give me a pair of pearls. I thank you for your love and pin the pearl on my red shirt. My home is connected with the imperial garden, and my husband is on duty in the palace with a halberd. Although I know you are sincere to Lang Lang, I have vowed to share my life and death with my husband. Return your double beads, my eyes are full of tears, and I regret not meeting you before I got married.
Interpretation of vernacular Chinese: You know I'm married, and you gave me a pair of pearls. Moved by your lingering feelings, I often tie pearls on my coat and red skirt. My high-rise building is connected to the Royal Garden, and my husband is also on duty in the palace.
Although I know you are really like a bright moon, I have vowed to live and die with my husband. When I returned your double beads, I couldn't help crying. How much I hate it! I hate that we didn't meet before I got married.
Extended data
Creative background: Li Shidao was the envoy of Pinglu Ziqing, one of the buffer towns at that time, and was awarded the titles of "Studying as usual" and "Harmony in the Same School". After the mid-Tang Dynasty, the vassal regions became independent one after another, and they colluded with scholars and central officials by various means. Zhang Ji is a great disciple of Hanmen, and his position of safeguarding national unity and opposing the separatist regime in the buffer region is exactly the same as that of his teacher. This poem is a masterpiece written to refuse Li Shidao's bribe.
Throughout the poem, metaphor is used to euphemistically express one's attitude. On the surface, it is a lyric poem to express the love between men and women, but in essence it is a political lyric poem called "ode to a woman", which expresses one's ambition.
The first two sentences say: This gentleman knows that I am a married woman, but he still loves me. This gentleman is not a polite person, and his tone is full of criticism. "Jun" here refers to Li Shidao, a buffer region, and "concubine" refers to self-comparison. The sudden appearance of the cross directly pointed out the teacher's ulterior motives.
Then the poem turned his head and said, although I know you don't obey the etiquette, I feel so deeply about you that I can't help tying the pearls you sent to me personally. On the surface, he is the confidant of the teacher; If you look deeper, there is an article in the words.
Then another turn, saying that his family has rich weather, my wife is the guardian of Guangming Hall, and he belongs to the central government. In classical poetry, couples are usually compared to monarchs and ministers. These two sentences show that they are literati in the Tang Dynasty.
Then the two sentences opened and closed, with contradictory feelings and intense thoughts: the first sentence thanked each other and comforted each other; The last sentence categorically stated my ambition, "My husband and I swear to live and die together". Finally, it ends with affectionate words, tears and pearls. I am tactful and determined.
The "double beads" in the poem are the price that Li Shidao used to win over and lure the author to help him, that is, the fame, status, wealth and splendor that ordinary people can't wait. After careful consideration, the author euphemistically refused the other party's request, and achieved the goal of "being rich and not being slutty", and held her solemn position like a virtuous woman who kept her virginity.