"When the sun rises, the flowers on the river are as red as fire, and when spring comes, the river is as green as blue." The easy-to-understand meaning is as follows:
When the sun rises, the red light shines on the river. It makes the river look brighter than the burning flames.
When spring comes, the river water, reflected by the greenery on the shore, seems to be green and almost blue.
Source
When the sun rises, the flowers on the river are as red as fire, and when spring comes, the river is as green as blue, from Bai Juyi's "Recalling Jiangnan".
Bai Juyi, the great poet of the Tang Dynasty, once wrote three poems "Recalling Jiangnan". The first one starts with "Jiangnan is good", that is, "Recalling Jiangnan·Jiangnan is good"; the last two poems start with "Jiangnan is good"; The poem "Recalling Jiangnan·Jiangnan Recalling" (Part One) and "Recalling Jiangnan·Jiangnan Recalling" (Part Two) are collectively called "Recalling Jiangnan".
Original text
Recalling Jiangnan
[Tang Dynasty] Bai Juyi
Jiangnan is good, and the scenery is familiar to me.
When the sun rises, the flowers on the river are as red as fire, and when spring comes, the river is as green as blue. Can you not remember Jiangnan?
Easy-to-understand vernacular translation
Hello Jiangnan, I used to be so familiar with the beautiful scenery of Jiangnan. In spring, the red flowers on the shore illuminated by the morning light are redder than the blazing flames, and the green river is greener than the blue grass. How can one not miss Jiangnan?
Notes on key words
Recalling Jiangnan: the title of Tang Jiaofang's song. The author's own note under the title says: "This song is also called 'Xie Qiuniang', with five lines in each song." According to "Yuefu Poetry Collection": "'Recalling Jiangnan' was named 'Wang Jiangnan'. Because of Bai's lyrics, it was later renamed 'Jiangnan' "Good" became the name of Ci Pai in the late Tang and Five Dynasties. The Jiangnan referred to here mainly refers to the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.
acquainted (ān): familiar. The author visited Jiangnan three times when he was young.
River flowers: flowers along the river. One theory refers to the waves in the river.
Red is better than fire: The color is brighter than fire.
Green as blue: greener than blue. For example, the usage is similar to "yu", which means to overcome.
Blue: Blue grass, whose leaves can be used to make green dye.
Creative background
Bai Juyi once served as the governor of Hangzhou for two years, and later served as the governor of Suzhou for more than a year. In his youth, he roamed the south of the Yangtze River and lived in Suzhou and Hangzhou. He had a good understanding of the south of the Yangtze River, so the south of the Yangtze River left a deep impression on him. When he resigned from the post of governor of Suzhou due to illness and returned to Luoyang for more than ten years, he wrote these three poems "Recalling Jiangnan".
The specific time of writing the lyrics has always been said in different ways. Some say it was written after Bai Juyi left Suzhou; some say it was written in the third year of Kaicheng (838); some say it was written in the first year of Yamato (827); Wang Guowei says it was written in the "89th year of Yamato". These statements are general and simple and lack factual basis. Liu Yuxi once composed several poems of "Recalling Jiangnan", which were sung with Bai Juyi, so he said in the preface: "The lyrics of "He Le Tian Chun" are based on the beat of "Recalling Jiangnan"." This poem was published in the second edition of Emperor Wenzong of the Tang Dynasty. It was written in Luoyang in the early summer of 837, so it can be inferred that the three poems written by Bai Juyi should also be written in the early summer of the second year of Kaicheng.
Appreciation
At the beginning of the poem, he expressed his feelings directly and praised "Jiangnan is good". In order to show that he is not just following what others say, the poet then explains that "the scenery is familiar to the past", which he personally experienced, felt, and was very familiar with and deeply understood back then ("old" and "old"). What is the impression of the scenery in the south of the Yangtze River that the poet was "acquainted with in the past"? "The flowers on the river are redder than fire at sunrise, and the river is as green as blue when spring comes." The poet firmly grasps the characteristics of the spring morning in the south of the Yangtze River, and combines the spring flowers in the south of the Yangtze River with the water in the south of the Yangtze River. Together, it can be said to capture the essence of Jiangnan Beauty. In order to express a broader artistic conception in the limited words, the poet skillfully used the "intertextual" technique, interweaving the words "sunrise" and "spring" in the two sentences before and after, showing the gorgeous beauty of the Spring River in the south of the Yangtze River to the readers. in front of.
The spring breeze is strong, flowers are in full bloom, and the mountains and plains are full of colorful flowers. Under the reflection of the morning sun, the mountain flowers in the green shade become more and more dazzling. Du Fu once said in a poem that "the mountains are blue and the flowers are about to burn." However, Bai Juyi does not say mountain flowers here but "river flowers", which highlights that against the background of the flowing clear water of a river, the "burning flowers" are more beautiful and "redder than fire". The spring river is green, and the golden sunshine fills the earth. In the bright spring light, the lush green shadows on both sides of the river are reflected in the river, making the water surface even more sparkling green. Due to the morning sun, the red flowers and green water further enhance the brightness of the color. Because the red of the mountain flowers and the green of the river serve as the background and set off each other, the vividness of the color is enhanced, so the red becomes redder and the green becomes greener, that is, " "Red is better than fire" and "Green is like blue". The flow of spring water in a river makes everything intertwined with light and color in a dynamic, ever-changing, dazzling and beautiful way. This is the Jiangnan in the poet's permanent memory. Its beauty is like this, and the poet said from his heart: "Can I not remember Jiangnan?"
About the author
Bai Juyi (772-846), courtesy name Letian and Xiangshan layman , also known as Mr. Zuiyin, his ancestral home is Taiyuan, he moved to Xiagui when his great-grandfather was around, and he was born in Xinzheng, Henan. He was a great realist poet in the Tang Dynasty and one of the three major poets in the Tang Dynasty. Bai Juyi and Yuan Zhen jointly advocated the New Yuefu Movement, known as "Yuan Bai" in the world, and "Liu Bai" together with Liu Yuxi.
Bai Juyi's poetry has a wide range of themes, diverse forms, and simple and popular language. He is known as the "Poetry Demon" and the "Poetry King". He became a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy and a doctor of Zuo Zanshan. In 846 AD, Bai Juyi died in Luoyang and was buried in Xiangshan. There is "Bai's Changqing Collection" handed down from generation to generation, and his representative poems include "Song of Everlasting Sorrow", "The Charcoal Seller", "Pipa Play" and so on.