Moon Song of Mount Emei
Li Bai
The half-circle of autumn moon on Mount Emei,
the shadow falls into the flow of Pingqiang River②.
The clear stream flows towards the Three Gorges ③ at night,
I miss you and go down to Yuzhou ④.
Notes
① Mount Emei: in the southwest of present-day Emei County, Sichuan
② Pingqiang (qiāng): the name of the river, which is today’s Qingyi River, in the east of Mount Emei.
③Fa: Set off. Qingxi: refers to Qingxi Station, located near Mount Emei in Qián, Sichuan. Three Gorges: refers to the Qutang Gorge, Wu Gorge, and Xiling Gorge of the Yangtze River, at the junction of today's Sichuan and Hubei provinces. One theory refers to the Litou, Bei'e and Pingqiang Three Gorges in Leshan, Sichuan. Qingxi is in the upper reaches of Litou Gorge.
④jun: refers to the moon of Mount Emei. One theory refers to the author's friends. Down: Go down the river. Yuzhou: the area around present-day Chongqing.
Translation:
The half-moon autumn moon rises over Mount Emei, and its shadow reflects into the Qingyi River as it flows.
The boat I took at night set off from Qingxi Xiangshan Gorge,
Missing you but not being able to see my boat sailing down to Yuzhou.
Brief analysis:
This is when young Li Bai left Sichuan for the first time. A poem about being attached to the mountains and rivers of my hometown. The poet traveled by water by boat. On the boat, he saw the half-circle autumn moon rising from the top of Mount Emei. The shadow of the mountain moon was reflected in the Pingqiang River, and the shadow of the moon always followed the river. At night, the boat departed from Qingxiyi and headed for the Three Gorges. After the boat turned into Yuzhou, the moon was obscured by the mountains and could not be seen. This poem uses five place names to show a thousand-mile journey along the Shu River through the mountains, moon and rivers.
Appreciation 1:
Mount Emei is located in today's Emei County southwest of Chengdu, Sichuan. There are many temples in the mountains. Li Bai's poems related to Mount Emei. There are three poems that people are familiar with, one is "Climbing Mount Emei", which was written when the author lived in Shu in his early years, and the other is "Mount Emei Moon Song Sends Shu Monk Yan to Beijing" written in his later years; this one is written by When the author left Shu at the age of twenty-six (726). If Li Bai climbed Mount Emei in his early days to visit Taoism and seek immortality, then the poems about the Moon Song of Mount Emei he wrote when he was about to leave Shu and after he left Shu were mainly used to express his lofty ideals and longing for his friends. People appreciate this poem, but their understanding is very different.
First, there are different opinions on the author’s mood when he wrote this poem. Volume 47 of Ming Gaoyu's "Collection of Tang Poems" quotes Liu Xuxi as saying that this poem is "emotional and sad", while Cheng Qianfan's "An Examination of Ancient Poems: One and Many in the Description and Structure of Classical Poetry" says: "Li Bai's conception He contrasts the lonely moon in the sky with the many places he passes by as the river flows eastward to show his brisk mood as he rides down the river. "If we analyze this poem in relation to Li Bai's motivation for leaving the river, we can compare the above two. It is not difficult to judge whether this understanding is correct or incorrect. At that time, the author traveled to Shu with the ambition of all directions, and the Judapeng was about to spread its wings. There is no "sadness" at this time. On the contrary, there is a strong desire to compete with Mingyue. The moon of Mount Emei originally flowed eastward with the river, and the author took a boat down the river. Sometimes you can see the mountain moon wherever you pass, sometimes you can't see it. The bright moon appears and disappears, as if it is chasing you closely. When you can't see it, it's like leaving the mountain and moon behind in the distance. If the above-mentioned "emotion" in Liu Xuxi's so-called "emotion" is understood to mean the author's interest in playing with the mountains and the moon or the joy of being able to get out of Sichuan, it seems to be closer to the original meaning than the word "sadness".
Second, there are different understandings of the word "autumn". One thinks it refers to autumn, and the other thinks "it refers to the time when the first quarter or last quarter of the moon in Mount Emei forms a semicircle." Judging from its meaning, of course the latter statement is more reasonable. However, it is certain that the "half wheel" in Li's poem does not refer to the first quarter moon, because Mount Emei is southwest of the author at this time, so it naturally refers to the end of the lunar month. At the same time, the interpretation of the word "Autumn" as "time" can be found in exegesis, that is, the word "Autumn" can be interpreted as "period" and "day".
In addition, the word "Autumn" is also used to mean flying or leaping, such as the seventh chapter of "Hanshu·Liyue Zhi·An Shifang Zhongge": "Flying Dragon Autumn, swimming up to the sky "According to this, it seems reasonable to interpret this sentence as a crescent moon flying over Mount Emei.
Third, there are different explanations of the "Three Gorges". One theory is that the "Three Gorges" here refers to Qutang Gorge, Wu Gorge, and Xiling Gorge at the junction of Hubei and Sichuan; another theory is that it refers to the so-called Small Three Gorges of Litou, Bei'e, and Pingqiang in Leshan County, Sichuan. To discern which one is more reasonable. We might as well examine Li Bai's route out of Sichuan first. The author saw the reflection of the moon on Mount Emei in the Pingqiang River, indicating that he set off from Mount Emei. The Pingqiang River, also known as the Qingyi River, originates from the northwest of Lushan County, Sichuan, and flows into the Minjiang River in Leshan County. The "Qingxi" in the third sentence refers to Qingxi Station, located in Qianwei County, Sichuan. "Qingxi" is located downstream of the Leshan Three Gorges, and the author sets out from here at night. The goal is "Xiang Three Gorges" obviously does not refer to the Three Gorges in Leshan County. Otherwise, not only will the word "Xiang" lose its place, pedestrians will have to go back. Therefore, the "Three Gorges" here must refer to the famous Badong Three Gorges. Here is The place that people yearn for is also the only way out of Sichuan via Leshan (today's Chongqing area).
Fourth, there are different interpretations of the word "jun" in the couplet. The friend whom the author misses may be his "send-off person"; Shen Deqian said: "The moon is between the Qingxi and the Three Gorges, and half of it is no longer visible." The character Jun refers to the moon. "("Tang Poems") It seems that the latter statement is more reasonable. Mount Emei is the author's actual hometown, and the moon is the circle of his hometown. The author misses the moon of Mount Emei.
Undoubtedly, it is also an attachment to my hometown. If "Sijun" is interpreted as "Thinking of friends", it would be too straightforward. It would be better to think of it as personification of the moon, which is more poetic. Yu Biyun believes: "The waning moon of the autumn night reflects the green and steep Mount Emei. The river stops and the scenery is secluded. The boat sails at night and heads east to Chongqing. Looking back at the setting moon and sinking into the mountains, I miss you, but there are beautiful mountains across the way. It's like good friends share the same love." ("Continuation of a Brief Introduction to Poetry") Therefore, "missing you" does not just refer to missing a certain friend, but a broad sense of nostalgia. Isn't it more meaningful to use the mountain and moon that symbolizes my hometown as a friend than to refer to a specific friend?
The ancients praised this poem most for its wonderful use of place names. Wang Shimao of the Ming Dynasty said: "Those who talk about art have a saying that the seven-character rule cannot be included in a story twice, and it cannot be repeated in a story. There are few people who suffer from this disease, and it can be seen if you can pick it out. However, I think it is not a wonderful enlightenment. When the poem is conveyed by the expression, it will be better as time goes by, and no trace will be noticed. Even if one sentence is used twice or two sentences are repeated, there will be no harm. For example, in Taibai's "Moon Song of Mount Emei", there are only five places in the poem, which are ancient and modern. It is a masterpiece that never gets tired of being heavy." ("Yipu Jin") Wang Shizhen called this poem a beautiful place in Taibai, and said: "Among the twenty-eight characters, there are Mount Emei, Pingqiang River, Qingxi, Three Gorges, and Yuzhou. Later generations will leave countless traces of it, and they will be able to see the wonder of this old furnace hammer.
What needs to be added here is that the author is not only good at using place names without revealing any traces, but what is more noteworthy is his proficiency in the poetry of quatrains, especially the third sentence, which is very skillful in inheritance and transfer. The author came from the Pingqiang River downstream, so the third sentence of "Night Fa Qingxi" is a real connection. If it is a real connection again, from Qingxi to Yuzhou, it becomes a list of names of water piers, and it is possible The poetic taste is dull, but "Toward the Three Gorges" is between fiction and reality. As a place name, "Three Gorges" is true, but the poet has not yet arrived. It is again in the imagination. Due to the wonderful transfer of the third sentence, the fourth sentence becomes a smooth boat, and gives a series of ordinary place names a rich poetic meaning. It has become a beautiful scene in poetry. The whole story is clever and powerful, and it is worthy of being a masterpiece of ancient and modern times.