Long song (excerpt)
HanYueFu
From the east to the sea,
When will you go back to the west?
If you are young and don't work hard,
The boss is very sad.
[Notes]
1. Boss: Old.
2. Acts: In vain.
[Modern Translation]
The river flows to the East China Sea, how can it flow back? If you don't try to make a difference when you are young, it's useless to regret and be sad when you are old.
[Appreciation]
Yuefu poetry is a genre that can best represent the achievements of Chinese poetry. It often uses fu, bi, xing, intertextuality, and repeated singing to express its feelings, and this song "Long Songs" represents this feature. The author compares the fleeting time of Shaoguang to the return of a hundred rivers to the sea, feeling that "young people don't work hard, but old people are sad" and urging the world to cherish time and make a difference. The whole poem rises from the green sunflowers, and is associated with the changes of the four seasons. Compared with the river, it draws the conclusion that we should seize the time and work hard, and its contrast method is obvious.
"Long song" is suitable for expressing deep affection. This poem is expressive, descriptive, lyrical, sighing and encouraging, which makes the whole poem full of delicate connotations and endless implications. It not only inherits the tradition of "singing and chanting", but also has great formal aesthetic feeling, which is convenient for repeated chanting.