When * * * cut the candle at the west window, but talk about the rain at night.
-Li Shangyin's Notes to Friends in the North on a Rainy Night
Li Shangyin (8 13-858), whose real name is Mountain, is from Yuxi.
In his early years, Li Shangyin won the appreciation of the ox party Linghu Chu for his literary talent, was promoted as the governor of the shogunate, and was recommended by Hu Ling, the son of Linghu Chu, and became a scholar. After Li Dang, people in Wang Maoyuan Town of Heyang admired his talents, became a secretary and took his wife as his concubine. His action was regarded as a trip of treason by the Cattle Party. Therefore, even if Li Yishan wrote to analyze his heart again and again, he ignored it. Yishan lived a very poor life as a clerk, and finally died in Xingyang, down and out, becoming a victim of the struggle of the Niudang.
When it comes to Yishan's poems, readers are often moved by his profound thoughts and feelings, and are often dazzled by his magnificent words, gloomy brushwork, gloomy colors and blurred artistic conception. Indeed, reading Li Shangyin's poems often puts people in an aesthetic atmosphere and gains a beautiful feeling, but it is also difficult to understand because of the mystery of his poetic language. Poetic critics of past dynasties regarded most of his poems as love poems or commissioned works, just as Liang Qichao said, "I can't understand what a mountain of poems such as Jinse, Bi Cheng and Poems of a Sage are about. Take it apart and let me explain it sentence by sentence. I can't even say what it means. But I think it is beautiful, and it gives me a fresh pleasure in reading. " Similarly, A Note to Friends in the North on a Rainy Night is such a difficult poem. This poem, part of which is also selected, is addressed to his wife. However, after textual research, this poem was written by Li's wife after her death and was written by friends in the north. That is a work of "holding incense half-way to show anger". Now, I don't want to be modest, so I ask my colleagues to explain "Notes for a friend in the north on a rainy night".
When reading poems, new criticism advocates a "close reading" method that pays attention to the function of words. They believe that words are the basis of a text, and the choice and choice of words are saturated with the author's emotional intentions. First, I "read" this poem:
1, "Wen Jun": You ask me (letter), I don't know who "Jun" refers to; "Return period": the period of returning to China; "Not yet": No approval.
2. "Bashan": accommodation; Rain at Night: the most favorable atmosphere to express the sadness of travel and the pain of not returning home; "Rising Autumn Pool": The dense autumn rain makes the pool full, indicating the season.
3. "When": When can I do it? "* * * * Cut the candle at the west window": look forward to the happiness in the future.
4. "When you say goodbye to the rain at night": The sorrow tonight has become the message of cutting candles at night in the future.
Literally, this poem is cordial and lively, but it talks about the situation of people here and now after the return of ideas, and its structure is symmetrical and not difficult to solve. However, due to the lack of time-space transformation, this poem is quite incoherent. At the same time, due to the concealment of the main body of this poem, this poem has universal significance; Reading this poem, what it is about is puzzling.
How to interpret this poem?
The ancients often talked about the "implication" of poetry by "style", saying that "the wind shakes far away and the tone is melodious far away", which is an accurate interpretation of "implication" and "style". I think Yishan's poems should be entrusted with something.
Although Li is not the heir of the royal family, it often advertises that "home is in Shanxi" and always reveals a sense of superiority. However, considering the strange fate of Yishan, this poem is extremely appropriate-it is caught in the dispute between Niu and Li, squeezed out and suppressed, and even frustrated and reduced to life.
At that time, the author lived in Dongchuan and was in a difficult situation. He lost contact with his old friend, the upstart, and hoped that someone would help him. This is human nature. Whose is the word "Jun" at the beginning of the poem? It is unknown. Maybe a friend who really cares about him sent a book to ask, or maybe it was a deep desire to ask Hu Ling and other authorities. I think both of these understandings can be established. The word "not yet" is full of helplessness. The second period comes out of Bashan, depicting the continuous late rain. Isn't the rain in Yingchi a metaphor for the poet's longing for Chang 'an? Yishan once cherished the lofty ambition of "returning to heaven and earth and entering a boat" (Anding Tower), and Chang 'an was the "heaven and earth" that the poet wanted to return to. The third sentence transcends time and space, dreaming of reunion with old friends. In fact, this is his deep dream of regaining knowledge. The fourth sentence once again strengthens the plight of Bashan, which is clear in combination with the above.
In short, in this poem, Yishan places his desire to know each other and love each other in love, and gives hope and piety to those in power who can give him his life and career. Therefore, this poem should be understood as a metaphor of "style" and "meaning", not a love poem or a poem that misses friends.
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