Original text:
Zhuzhi Ci
He Jingming [Ming Dynasty]
The autumn grass is barren at the top of the twelve peaks, and the cold smoke and cold moon pass over Qutang.
A solitary boat traveler on the Qingfeng River will feel heartbroken if he does not listen to the sound of the ape.
Translation:
On the top of the Twelve Peaks of Wushan Mountain, the grass in late autumn has withered and turned yellow. When the boat passed through the Qutang Gorge, a cold mist shrouded the river, and the cold moon in the sky reflected on the turbulent water through the cold mist.
Whenever I was on the boat crossing the river covered with maple trees, I felt sad and heartbroken even though I couldn't hear the sound of the apes.
Note:
Twelve peaks: refers to the twelve peaks of Wushan Mountain.
Qutang: Qutang Gorge, the most dangerous of the Three Gorges.
Guzhouke: The author refers to himself.
Appreciation:
Among the various genres of Chinese classical poetry, Zhuzhi Ci is a rather special genre. It originated before the prosperous Tang Dynasty and was originally a folk song spread among the Chu River in Bashan. During the song, people held bamboo branches and danced gracefully, hence the name "Bamboo Branch". Around the mid-Tang Dynasty, some literati who loved folk literature, represented by Liu Yuxi, began to compose Zhuzhi Ci in the folk song style, making it an almost Qijue style of poetry that was lyrical on the scene, free in subject matter, and relatively neat in form. This style of poetry became very popular among literati after the Song Dynasty. This poem about bamboo branches written by He Jingming in the Ming Dynasty is one of thousands of poems with the same title.
It is difficult to say that He's poem is top-notch among similar works, but it has its own characteristics, which is undeniable. Liu Yuxi was the most famous poet who wrote poems about bamboo branches in the Tang Dynasty. His most famous poem about bamboo branches is: "The willows are green and the Qingjiang River is level, and I can hear the singing of people walking on the Langjiang River. The sun rises in the east and rains in the west. The road is not clear but there is sunshine." Although the wording is implicit, it is Clearly a love song. Many people in later generations wrote Zhuzhi Ci, all of which took love Ci as their main theme. For example, Yang Weizhen of the Yuan Dynasty wrote "West Lake Bamboo Branch Poems" and sang: "The lake with a building and a boat at the mouth of the lake is called Yin, and the lake with broken bridges is deep. The building with a boat without a rudder is Lang's intention, and the broken bridge with no pillars is Nong's heart." He Jingming The difference is that his poem on bamboo branches does not sing about the tender love, but the journey in the gentle autumn wind. "The autumn grass is barren at the top of the Twelve Peaks, and the cold moon passes over Qutang." The first couplet shows the scene of travel in a sad and low tone: The Twelve Peaks are the Twelve Peaks of Wushan in the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River. It is late autumn, and looking around Go, the autumn grass in the mountains is desolate and lifeless. This autumn scene is already heavy enough, but the author adds a night scene on top of it. The depressing atmosphere is almost unbearable: "Cold smoke and cold moon pass over Qutang." On the autumn night, the Yangtze River is filled with layers of coldness. There is smoke and a cold moon hangs in the sky. In this background, a lonely traveler takes the risk of crossing the Qutang Gorge. What will be the ending? It is really unimaginable. But what the author seems to be focusing on the traveler is not the danger of crossing the gorge, but the loneliness of traveling by water. Therefore, the following couplet gives people a sadder and more delicate feeling: "Guests in a boat on the Qingfeng River will be heartbroken if they don't listen to the sound of the apes." Qingfeng River, also known as Qingfeng Pu, Shuangfengpu is located in Liushui, Liuyang County, Hunan Province today. This place name was often borrowed in ancient times to refer to remote and desolate waters. For example, in Zhang Ruoxu's famous work "Spring River Flower Moonlight Night" in the Tang Dynasty, "the white clouds slowly fade away, and the green maple pond is full of sorrow". The appearance of this place name in He's poem about bamboo branches describing the Yangtze River style is naturally borrowed to express that the travelers in the lone boat are in an unspecified desolate place; however, due to the specificity of this place name passed down from generation to generation Meaning, this borrowing adds a layer of sadness and silence beyond the words to this poem about bamboo branches. Precisely because of this layer of sadness and silence, the last sentence of this poem is not impossible to find - although the traveler did not hear the extremely miserable cries of the apes in the Three Gorges, his heart has long been Infected by this autumn night scene, I felt heartbroken. Naturally, as a poet who likes to imitate the past, the reason why He Jingming conceived such an image as the end of this poem is not without the influence of the works of the previous generation. Li Daoyuan quoted "Badong Three Gorges" in "Shui Jing Zhu" The ancient ballad "The Wu Gorge is long, and the ape's cry three times and the clothes are wet with tears" can be said to be the basic starting point of this poem. The difference is that He can go in and out, but in the end he did the opposite.
About the author:
He Jingming (1483～1521), whose courtesy name was Zhongmo, also known as Baipo, and also Dafushan, was from Shihe District, Xinyang. In the fifteenth year of Hongzhi in the Ming Dynasty (1502), he became a Jinshi and was awarded Zhongshu Sheren. In the early days of Zhengde, the eunuch Liu Jin was in power, and He Jingming returned home due to illness. Liu Jin was executed and his official position was restored. He was appointed deputy envoy to Shaanxi Province to study. He is one of the "First Seven Sons" and is known as a leader in the literary world together with Li Mengyang. His poems are based on the Han and Tang Dynasties, and some of his poems have quite realistic content. There is "Da Fu Ji".