Li He [Tang Dynasty]
Fly away and advise you to have a drink.
I don't know if the sky is high and the land is thick.
Only when the moon is cold and the weather is warm, come to fry life.
Eating bears is fat, eating frogs is thin.
Where is the God King? Tai yi' an has it?
If there is a forest in Tiandong, the next title is Candle dragon.
I will chop off the dragon's feet and chew the dragon's meat so that it can't go back at night.
Natural elders don't die, and young people don't cry.
What is gold and white jade?
Who seems to be a son, riding a green donkey in the clouds?
Liu Che Mausoleum is full of stagnant bones, while Ying Zheng catalpa coffin costs abalone.
2. Translation
Time flies, please drink this glass of wine.
I wonder how high the sky is and how thick the ground is.
I only see the changes of the sun and the moon in summer and winter, killing people's lives.
Eating bear's paw will make you fat, but eating frog's leg will make you thin.
Where is the God King, and where is Taiyi?
There is a sacred tree in the east of the sky, and a dragon walks around with candles.
I'm going to cut off the dragon's feet and chew the dragon's meat so that it can't patrol during the day and lurk at night.
Nature keeps old people from dying and young people from crying.
Why swallow gold and eat white jade?
Has anyone seen Ren Gongzi flying in the sky on a blue donkey?
Liu Che wants to live forever, and finally he can only rot and grow bones in Maoling. Ying Zheng asked for an elixir, and after his death, the coffin cart wasted stinking pickled fish.
Step 3 enjoy
Qian Zhongshu commented on Li He: "It is because of the speed of time, the shortness of life, the endless changes in the world and the endless life. Whenever I feel depressed, I will sigh forever. " (Talk about Art Record 14) This aspect is often involved in Li He's poems, and the one with a comprehensive view and thorough discussion is Short Life.
The whole poem is divided into three paragraphs, each of which reflects one aspect of the author's thought, and together, it is his overall view on the problem.
The first ten sentences of the poem (from the beginning to "Taiyi Anyou") are the first paragraph. At the beginning of the poem, the poet asked for time to stop drinking. The reason why we should persuade time to drink is because the poet has deep feelings about it: First, we sigh that time flies and life urges us. The poet said that he doesn't know many profound truths between heaven and earth, but one thing is very clear, that is, "the moon is cold and the day is warm to fry life." Time flies, time flies, and life is wasted before it can make a difference. This is the poet's deep anxiety and fear, and the word "fried" shows the painful mood of wasting one's time; One is to realize that life is bound to die. People living in the world must rely on food to maintain their lives. Eat bear's paw fat, eat frog meat thin. This is the function of food in the life system. There are no immortals in the world who don't eat grain and kill six generals. So everyone is bound to die, which is an irresistible law between heaven and earth. People have long shown great concern about life and death. Because of sentimentality, the poet's life journey has been frustrated repeatedly, and his thinking has become more and more profound. Here, the poet gave his own answer to the question with a serious attitude.
The poet put the content of persuading wine at the beginning of the poem, which made the work have a sense of novelty and suddenness, and also showed that the poet had fully realized that he had no bad feelings about time. Then combine "I don't know" with "I only see", exclude irrelevant things, and focus on the short life, which not only takes care of the word "bitter days are short", but also makes the work have a great centripetal force. Take this as the key link to expand the following content. "Too b Ann, where is the king of god? "This is a rhetorical question, and the answer is self-evident. After some searching, the poet completed his mental journey in one go.
The eight sentences in the middle (from "there are trees in the east of heaven" to "a few people don't cry") are the second paragraph. In the previous paragraph, the poet rationally answered the confusion in his heart. If the poem stops here, something seems to be missing. In this passage, the poet poured out his good wishes for life with the help of myths and legends. In the poem, there is a big tree named Ruomu in the east of the sky. There is a dragon under the tree with candles on it. The legendary Ruomu is in the vast barren hills overseas in northwest China, and Candle dragon is also in a shadowy country in northwest China. This poet obviously changed the ancient myth. The poet put forward a bold idea: cut off the dragon's legs and eat the dragon's meat, so that the sun can't run, stay the same day and night, and time will freeze. In this way, life can last forever, and people don't have to be sad for it.
This is the poet's fantasy, full of passion and romantic temperament. The defects in reality are satisfied in fantasy, so although it appears in the form of myth, it still has permanent charm, shines with the light of ideals and wisdom, and sublimates art.
The last six sentences of the poem (from "how to serve gold" to the end) are the third paragraph. In this passage, the poet laughed at the absurdity and ignorance of those who want to achieve immortality by seeking immortality.
Taking gold and swallowing white jade is a feeding method in Taoism. It is said that you can become immortal. As for the actual effect, "seeking immortality by eating is mostly a medical mistake." ("Nineteen Ancient Poems Driving East Gate") Taking Ren Gongzi who ascended to heaven on a donkey as an example, it is also an illusory legend. The poet clearly knows that there is a difference between fantasy and reality, and the idea of becoming an immortal is unfounded. Some people in the world are keen on this way, and even a wise monarch like Qin Huang Hanwu can't avoid the custom. Their quest for immortality ended in vain and became the laughing stock of future generations. According to historical records, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty accepted the alchemist and prayed for a visit to immortals by famous mountains and rivers, so that immortals could bear the dew, adjust nectar and drink jade scraps, hoping to live forever. The Biography of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty said that after the death of Emperor Wu, catalpa coffins tinkled, cigarettes filled the air and bones flew away. However, the poet said: "There are many stagnant bones in the mausoleum of Liu Che (Emperor Wu)." What is left in the grave is just a pile of muddy bones, and there is nothing that can be immortal at all. After Qin Shihuang completed the great cause of reunification, he was busy looking for an elixir of life and sent alchemists to the sea to seek immortality. Results A lot of abalone was eaten during the cruise, and it was difficult to hide the rancidity of the corpse. The poet mercilessly mocked the ignorant rulers in history from the figures of "excessive bones" and "abalone eating".
The ruler's move to seek immortality is to maintain long-term rule and enjoy a luxurious life forever. In order to achieve their goals, they did not hesitate to spend money and waste the national treasury, which was especially serious. Li He intends to put forward the martial arts of the Qin Dynasty and satirize their pursuit of immortality, which is something that can be entrusted. At that time, in spring, a charlatan named Liu Ying was appointed as the secretariat of Taizhou. Ministers remonstrated, but he said, "If you bother with the power of a country, you can be the master of the country and live a long life. How can your courtiers love you?" ("Zi Jian" Volume 24 _) It can be seen that it has reached the point of bigotry. This superstitious atmosphere spread among the ruling class again, and some even died of poisoning. For those people, Li He's poems are a wake-up call. If we can follow the poet's advice, we can avoid an accident.
The first paragraph of the poem has two meanings, one is to lament that life is short, and the other is to look at life with a rational attitude. The second paragraph and the third paragraph of the poem play this role respectively, repeating and sublimating the main idea of the first paragraph at a higher level. From the poem, we can see that the poet has got rid of his selfish thoughts and has great sympathy for life and society, but it is a burst of cynicism when he says it. There are many interrogative sentences in the poem, which are arranged at the junction of paragraphs to enhance the tone and emotional color and make the poem full of ups and downs. The poet also linked "eating bears as fat, eating frogs as thin" with "chopping dragon's feet and chewing dragon's meat", which made the mysterious story full of fireworks and human feelings and formed the unique artistic realm of Li He's poems. Coupled with the harmonious combination of blue sky, yellow earth, white jade, gold, green donkey and other colors, it is really a bit antique. There are not too many decorative patterns in the whole poem, and there is no intention to describe the scenery. However, due to the abundant passion and rich artistic techniques in the poem, this highly argumentative poem is full of twists and turns and interesting.