The full text of this poem is as follows:
"Quatrains"
Tang Dynasty: Du Fu
Two orioles sing in the green willows, and a line of egrets Go to the sky.
The window contains Qianqiu snow of Xiling, and the door is docked with a ship thousands of miles away from Dongwu.
This "quatrain" was written by the poet when he lived in the Huanhuaxi Cottage in Chengdu. It describes the bright and beautiful spring scenery around the thatched cottage.
The poem begins with a vibrant natural beauty, creating a fresh and relaxing atmosphere. In the first two sentences, the poet describes this beautiful scenery in detail from different angles. Emerald is fresh green, the color of everything that comes to life in early spring when it comes to life. "Two" and "one" are opposite; one horizontally and one vertically, a very bright natural scenery unfolds. In this poem, the word "Ming" is the most expressive. It uses anthropomorphic techniques to describe the oriole more vividly. The birds come in pairs, forming a vibrant picture with a festive atmosphere. The orioles sit on the willows and sing, which is the vitality that moves in silence. The next sentence uses more obvious momentum to describe the vitality of nature. The egrets fly in this fresh sky. This is not only a free and easy way. Comfortable, and a kind of upward striving. Furthermore, the first sentence describes the orioles sitting on the willows and singing, and the second sentence writes the egrets flying into the sky. The space is much wider. From bottom to top, from near to far, the poet can see and feel everything. The whole environment is filled with vitality, which shows the vitality of early spring from another angle.
The third sentence, "The window contains the snow of Xiling for thousands of years", the poet looks out the window. Because the air in early spring is fresh and the sky is sunny, he can see the Xiling Snow Mountain. The previous two sentences have pointed out that it was early spring, and the autumn snow in winter was about to melt, which gave readers a moist feeling. There is a word "han" between "window" and "snow" in this sentence, expressing When the snow first melts, the moisture moistens the window lattice that has been frozen in winter, which better expresses the poet's feelings about the vitality of early spring with moisture. As for "Xiling", the poet saw the first melting ice and snow in front of the window and thought of the Xiling near the grass hall. He thought of the long-lasting snow on the Xiling Mountain and replaced the remaining snow on the window with the eternal snow on the Xiling. The artistic conception expressed is broader. In addition, the poet has had the ambition to serve the country since he was a boy. After decades of obstacles, he finally had the opportunity to re-implement it, and the years of war were quelled. This is the same as the poet seeing the melting snow in front of the window and thinking of Xiling, and The thousand-year snow on the ridge replaces the lingering snow on the windows, which gives the poet a perfect connection with the feeling of the stubborn snow melting away.
The last sentence further describes Du Fu's complicated mood at that time. When it is said that the ship comes from "Soochow", this sentence means that the war has been calmed down, transportation has been restored, and the poet feels emotional after seeing things and misses his hometown. The use of the word "Bo" has a profound meaning. Du Fu has been wandering for many years without a destination. Although he still has a little hope in his heart, that hope has been greatly reduced. The word "Bo" just describes the poet's complex mood between hope and disappointment. "Wanli" implies the difficulty of achieving the goal, which is juxtaposed with "Qianqiu" in the third sentence. One is from the perspective of time, and the other is from the perspective of space, both describing the difficulty of achieving the goal. Sun Quan of the Three Kingdoms has been hailed as the Lord of the Ming Dynasty by many scholars since ancient times. The author uses Soochow to refer to Sun Quan, hinting at Du Fu's hope for the current emperor. The combination of "Bo", "Wanli" and "Dongwu Ship" into one sentence is precisely to write the word "difficult".
The whole poem seems to be one sentence per scene, four independent pictures, but the poet's inner emotions make the content consistent. The fresh and light scenery expresses the poet's inner complex emotions, forming a unified artistic conception. At the beginning, the spring scenery of the thatched cottage was shown, and the poet's mood was peaceful. However, as the sight moved and the scenery changed, the appearance of the river boat touched his nostalgia. On the surface, it shows a lively picture, but within the cheerful and bright scene, it expresses the poet's sense of loss about the passage of time, loneliness and boredom, and also describes the poet's complex mood when there is a glimmer of hope again. Beyond that hope, there is more of the poet's sentimentality towards disappointment.
The first couplet of the poem is a set of antithetical sentences. There are many willows around the thatched cottage, and a pair of orioles are singing happily on the freshly green willow branches. It is a pleasant scene, full of sound and color, forming a fresh and beautiful artistic conception. "Cui" refers to the fresh green, and "Cui Liu" refers to the phenology of early spring, when the willow branches have just sprouted buds. "Two orioles singing in the green willows", the birds are in pairs, showing a lively atmosphere, which has a festive meaning. The second sentence writes about the egret flying freely in the blue sky. This long-legged bird flies gracefully and naturally. The sky is clear and blue, and the egrets are extremely vivid in color against the "blue sky". The four distinct colors of "yellow", "emerald", "white" and "green" are used in succession in the two sentences to weave a gorgeous picture; the first sentence also has a description of the sound, conveying extremely joyful emotions.
The second couplet of the poem is also composed of antithetical sentences. The previous sentence is written through the window overlooking the snowy mountains of the Western Mountains. The snow on the ridge does not melt all year round, so there is accumulation of "thousands of years of snow". The snow-capped mountains cannot be seen when the weather is bad. They are only clearly visible on sunny days when the air is clear. Using the word "Han", this scene seems to be a picture embedded in the window frame, very close to the present. It is self-evident that the poet feels comfortable after seeing such a rare beauty. In the next sentence, if you glance outside the door, you can see the boats moored on the river bank. River boats are common, but the words "thousand-mile boats" have a profound meaning. Because they come from "Soochow". When people think that these ships will soon sail along the Minjiang River, through the Three Gorges, and directly to the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, they will feel very unusual.
Because of years of war, water and land transportation were blocked by the war, and ships could not travel thousands of miles smoothly. But after the war was calmed down and traffic was restored, ships from Soochow were seen, and the poet could "return to his hometown with his youth as his companion". How could it not make people happy? "Wanli Ship" is opposite to "Qianqiu Snow", one word is about the vastness of space, and the other is about the long time. The poet is in the thatched cottage, thinking for thousands of years, seeing thousands of miles, and how broad his mind is!
This quatrain contains one scene and one sentence, but they are integrated into one. What connects them is the poet's inner mood. On the surface, it shows a lively picture, but within the cheerful and bright scene, it expresses the poet's sense of loss about the passage of time, loneliness and boredom, and also describes the poet's complex mood when there is a glimmer of hope again. Beyond that hope, there is more of the poet's sentimentality towards disappointment, and the uncertainty and hesitation about whether the hope can come true. The purpose of this poem is to express the poet's complex emotions with fresh and light scenery.